GREENSBORO, N.C. — You've heard it again and again throughout the storm from local leaders and emergency services: stay home if you can. With the roads covered in ice and snow, that's great advice, but some folks have to get out and about.
If you have to brave the streets outside, there's a great tool to help you know what to expect. Check out DriveNC.gov from the North Carolina Department of Transportation.
Here's the important point to note: to make these work, you have to turn the camera slider on. To do that, click where the green arrow is pointed in this picture:
From there, you can search for traffic cameras near your neighborhood.
Keep in mind, neighborhood streets won't be as good as the highways at first, because less traveled roads are lower on the priority list for plowing.
For example, here's what our crew saw Saturday afternoon on I-40:
Compared to a nearby side street:
The City of Greensboro has a Snow and Ice Removal map to show you where all the roads rank on their plowing priority list.
The roads have a priority list:
- Priority one
- Priority two
- And neighborhood roads
According to the map, roads in red mean they're priority 1 roads for the City of Greensboro, so they'll get to those roads first. Green and black roads mean they're priority 2 roads. If a road is marked in blue, it has already been plowed.
Once all main roads are clear, plows then enter into neighborhoods. It's not an easy process, and you can agree it's not a quick one, but Greensboro street officials say it's a plan that works.
If a road isn't marked with a color, it's likely a neighborhood street and therefore, not a priority 1 or 2 road for plow crews.
The City of High Point also has a map of which roads have been plowed, also which ones are priority.