Boston-area snow cleanup continues, with more snowfall expected Monday
With Eastern Massachusetts expected to receive the brunt of Monday's snow , the region's cities are working to ensure residents are safe and warm.
Snow cleanup, which began Sunday as the storm moved across the state, continued throughout Monday in the Boston area. A spokesperson for the city of Cambridge said plowing and snow operations were still "very active" around midday.
"While the conditions will continue to improve, this work will take time, particularly with additional snow in the afternoon/evening forecast," Media Relations Director Jeremy Warnick said in an email to MassLive. "We are encouraging the community to continue to stay off the roads as much as possible while our (Department of Public Works) crews continue working around the clock to clear streets safely and efficiently."
Boston and Somerville were also continuing to plow streets and all three cities had parking bans in effect Monday, with no indication of when they would be lifted.
Warnick said some densely populated neighborhoods in Cambridge still had vehicles parked on the street, which created challenges for plow and tow truck drivers. He said the city is working on secondary streets and dead ends, but was prioritizing keeping main roadways clear. Snow hauling to remove accumulated snow would begin later this week.
Somerville, too, had some issues with clearing streets, with city officials posting on social media Sunday that compliance with the parking restrictions was "looking good, but there are a few stragglers out there" and they had begun towing cars still left out.
School and city services were canceled and city administrative offices were closed throughout the region. Cambridge Public Library branches and the city's human services programs, including youth and senior centers, were also closed Monday and the regular City Council meeting scheduled to be held at City Hall was changed to be fully remote. Boston Public Library branches were also closed.
The MBTA continued running Monday, but with reduced capacity . The Commuter Rail was expected to run just one-third of the usual scheduled trains to minimize signal use.
Trash and recycling pickups were also canceled for Monday in Boston, Cambridge and Somerville. Pickups for the rest of the week will be delayed by one day in Cambridge, Somerville and some neighborhoods of Boston. Street sweeping in Boston was also canceled until further notice.
Despite the closures, all three cities kept some public buildings open as warming centers for homeless residents and those without access to heat. In Boston, shelters run by the Boston Public Health Commission and nonprofit organizations were open and Boston Center for Youth and Families locations were being used as warming centers during normal operating hours.
The Somerville Public Library East branch was scheduled to remain open from 1 to 5 p.m. Monday to serve as shelter from the cold, though other branches were closed during the storm. The city's Winter Warming Center at 42 Prescott St. is open overnight from 5 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. daily.
In Cambridge, an overnight Winter Warming Center in the basement of the Senior Center, at 437 Green St., will have expanded capacity for 45 people through next weekend. Transportation was also available from the center to CASPAR Emergency Services Center at 240 Albany St., which had overflow space open during the day. Various other shelters had expanded capacity and daytime hours due to the storm.
Warnick said the warming center had been over its usual capacity of 35 from Thursday to Sunday night and nearly half of those at the center used the transportation service to the Albany Street shelter. The city had so far been able to accommodate everyone who requested shelter.
Outreach teams moving through the city over the weekend, both by car and on foot when it was not safe to drive, were able to get 16 to 21 people into shelters each night from Friday to Sunday, Warnick said.
The Boston area was expected to receive as much as 4 inches of snow Monday, on top of the more than 2 feet that fell Sunday.
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