Snow emergency declared for Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS - With severe winter weather heading to the area Friday afternoon, the City of Cedar Rapids is declaring a snow emergency through Monday.

Here's what residents need to know about the snow emergency, effective starting at 3 p.m. Friday until Monday at 7 a.m.

Parking

Emergency Snow Routes: Starting 3 p.m. Friday, cars should not be parked on Emergency Snow Routes. Vehicles parked on designated Snow Routes after a Snow Emergency has been declared may be ticketed and/or towed. These routes are typically main arterials, bus routes, school zones, and areas near hospitals. They are designated with street signage and are prioritized for plows to clear due to their high traffic volumes. A list of Emergency Snow Routes can be found at cedar-rapids.org.

Residential streets:

From 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, residents are asked to follow the odd/even parking rule in residential neighborhoods. Park on the odd-address side of the street on odd calendar days; park on the even-address side of the street on even calendar days. On Saturday, park on the odd address side; on Sunday, park on the even address side. This does not apply to emergency snow routes, parking-metered areas, or any street where the alternate side parking rule would conflict with permanently posted parking restrictions.

Snow plowing

Plow operators will be on standby to address snow accumulations later Friday and overnight into Saturday. Plow operations will begin as snowfall begins, with priority on keeping main roads and snow routes clear. Crews will again provide 24-hour coverage this weekend as snow accumulations increase, and will use a salt/sand mixture on the roadways in addition to plowing. Crews will begin with Emergency Snow Routes, then move to other major connector streets, then move to residential side streets.

After a snowfall, it may take up to 12 hours for crews to reach every street in the city. Cedar Rapids has approximately 600 linear miles of roadway to plow.

Cancellations

' The Your Skin is In: Prom 2019 event at the Hall-Perrine Cancer Center schedule for Sunday is canceled. Questions: 319-861-7998.

' The Hawkeye Area Community Action Program's Healthy You, Healthy Family health screenings planned for the downtown Cedar Rapids Public Library on Saturday is being postponed, with a future date to be determined.

Many other events are likely to be canceled because of the weather. If you are unsure if an event is canceled, please call ahead.

More on the storm

' Crews ready as Eastern Iowa braces for another round of snow

' National Weather Service monitoring incoming Iowa snowstorm despite shutdown

' Get the latest weather updates at thegazette.com/weather