12/23: 5:30 a.m. update:
- Significant ice accumulations overnight and temperatures remaining well below freezing have allowed the hazardous conditions to persist. People are still urged to stay home until conditions improve.
- Many Eugene roads, especially neighborhood and side streets, remain covered in ice. Stopping and turning will prove especially challenging.
- Crews worked through the night, with a focus on priority routes (Eugene’s busier streets).
- 30th Avenue remains closed between Hilyard and I-5.
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Emergency parking ban goes into effect on priority routes
The City of Eugene on Thursday, December 22, has declared an ice/snow emergency, effective immediately. The emergency declaration means all vehicles must be removed immediately from designated snow emergency routes.
Eugene Public Works declared the emergency due to ice and freezing rain that’s creating treacherous conditions. People are urged to stay home and off of the streets. Public works crews are currently responding to priority routes. They’re sanding elevated surfaces, near signalized intersections and in the south hills.
The City’s ice/snow ordinance prohibits parking along streets designated as snow emergency routes while a snow/ice emergency is in effect. Typically, emergency routes are collectors, arterials, and bus routes.
The ordinance gives the City the authority to tow vehicles parked or stranded along emergency routes. By banning parking, the City is able to ensure that emergency vehicles, buses, and other essential traffic can move safely around town, and that parked and stalled vehicles do not hamper snow removal operations or ice mitigation.
The parking ban will remain in effect until further notification. Listen to local radio and television stations for regular updates. If you have questions about which streets are emergency routes and subject to the parking ban view a map at eugene-or.gov/snow.
The National Weather Service issued an Ice Storm Warning for our area until Friday morning, when warmer temperatures are expected to bring rain. However, people should remain aware of their surroundings and potential hazards.