The City of New Bedford says its ready to tackle major snowstorms.

During a news conference Tuesday at the Whale's Tooth parking lot, city officials showed off some new equipment to battle snow, including dump trucks, backhoes and plows, replacing equipment that was damaged beyond repair last year.

The city has also acquired state-of-the-art technology to monitor road and air temperatures and has developed a training program for D-P-I employees on snow removal procedures.

Small Plow / Jim Phillips TSM
Small Plow / Jim Phillips TSM
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Mayor Jon Mitchell says "we've done an awful lot of planning since last year and we're really dug into the details, so i think we'll be in a much better position if we have a major snowstorm. But all that said, all the new equipment in the world and all the procedures are not going to eliminate all the disruption of a major storm."

D-P-I Commissioner Ron Labelle says last year's 84-inches of snow took its toll on the city's equipment. "Almost within the first five hours of last year's major storm we lost over 20-25 vehicles. We have some 1988 vehicles that are front-line equipment. I give the Mayor and the City Council a lot of credit for investing in our capabilities to meet the expectations of the public," said Labelle.

The city is also adding parts of five streets to the list of roads where parking will be banned on both sides of the street.

That list includes Ashley Boulevard from Nash Road to Coggeshall, County Street from Union to Sawyer, Kempton Street from Rockdale Avenue to Pleasant, Mill Street from Rockdale Avenue to Pleasant, and Cottage Street from Union to Durfee.

City officials say eliminating parking on those streets will make it easier for emergency vehicles and public transportation to get around in the event of a major snowfall.

New Equipment / Jim Phillips TSM
New Equipment / Jim Phillips TSM
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