Fayette Co. schools gave city more bus routes for snow removal as late as Tuesday
Lexington city officials say they have treated and have tried to clear all bus routes identified by the Fayette County Public School system.
The school system added additional routes to be treated as late as Tuesday, said Lexington Environmental Quality and Public Works Commissioner Nancy Albright.
Albright said the school system gave the city its bus routes in spring 2024. The city started to tackle those bus routes last week to ensure those routes were clear, she said. Her comments came during the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council Work Session on Tuesday.
“We got additional roads from (FCPS) yesterday and again this morning,” Albright said.
In addition, the city has treated more than 200 miles of unranked streets, she said. The city ranks its more than 1,100 miles of roads by a system.
Rank 1 roads are the most traveled and also have essential services such as hospitals. Those streets are plowed first. Then plows move to Rank 2 streets, which are often feeder streets into Rank 1 streets.
Rank 3 streets are larger collector streets, such as Zandale and Buckhorn Lane. Rank 4 streets are larger neighborhood streets.
Unranked streets are neighborhood streets and typically are not plowed.
FCPS has not held in-person classes since Dec. 23. It has held non-traditional instruction days since Monday, citing road and sidewalk conditions.
Mayor Linda Gorton said winter storms have dumped seven inches of snow, a layer of ice and then an additional three inches of snow over the past 10 days. That has complicated the city’s snow removal efforts. Bitterly cold temperature also have thwarted attempts to use salt brine to melt ice-packed snow on streets. she said.
“We know this has been difficult for people,” Gorton said.
On Monday, the mayor directed residents and businesses to shovel outside their homes and establishments to make it easier for pedestrians and school-aged children to get to school and bus stops.
A local ordinance requires residents and businesses to clear sidewalks 48 hours after a snow event of four inches or more. If a street hasn’t been plowed, people aren’t required to clear their sidewalks. The city has not enforced the ordinance since a massive storm hit the area in early January.
This story was originally published January 14, 2025 at 4:06 PM.
