Mayor Linda Gorton on Monday declared a snow emergency, partially activating the city’s Emergency Operations Center, and placing all of its public safety divisions on 24-hour schedules through Thursday. “I’m putting all hands on deck,” Gorton said. “This emergency declaration fully mobilizes our public safety resources to help residents handle the severe weather we are experiencing.” While at this stage the declaration does not ban parking on snow emergency routes, Gorton did encourage residents to avoid parking on these streets, if possible. “Residents can help our street crews get the streets cleared by not parking on snow emergency routes,” Gorton said. Snow emergency routes are major streets through the city and are marked by signage. The snow emergency also allows the delay of the implementation of the city’s ordinance requiring property owners to clear sidewalks. “In cases of extreme weather or during an emergency, the Mayor can postpone the requirement for property owners to clear sidewalks. While clean sidewalks are important, under current conditions I think clearing them would be dangerous for many people,” Gorton said. The post Update: Mayor declares snow emergency appeared first on The Lexington Times.