Montgomery County Storm Update, July 3

HIGHLIGHTS:

• HOV
•  restrictions on I-270 in Montgomery County have been lifted for today and tomorrow for the July 4^th holiday.
• All indoor and outdoor pools in the County are now open.  All regularly scheduled Recreation Department programs and activities are cancelled for Tuesday, July 3.
• Wait time to drop off debris and trash at the County’s Solid Waste Transfer Station is currently 45 minutes to one hour.  Residents are encouraged to delay visits or put use curbside collection, if possible.
• Residents without power are encouraged to use the two cooling centers set up at Richard Montgomery High School and White Oak Community Recreation Center, as well as the County’s recreation centers and libraries (except Silver Spring, Davis and Little Falls, which still do not have power).  Check www.montgomerycountymd.gov/rec andwww.montgomerycountymd.gov/libraries for hours of operation.
• July 4th fireworks celebrations, Mid-County Sparkles in Kensington, Germantown Glory, City of Rockville and City of Gaithersburg are cancelled.
• Circuit Court remains closed today.  District Court is open.
• MC311 will be open today from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Callers are asked to be patient if they experience delays when calling 311 because of the high call volume.  MC311 is operating from a temporary location because of power outages at its building, and this has contributed to some delays. The web portal  -- www.mc311.com -- is available 24 hours a day to report downed trees and other non-emergency issues.
• Residents can get real-time information on road closures in their neighborhoods on line athttp://www5.montgomerycountymd.gov/snowmap/.  Enter an address and zoom in to see detailed neighborhood information.  Closed roads, or portions of roads that are closed, will appear in black on the map, as noted in the legend on the left side of the page.
• PEPCO reports 76,500 customers are still without power in Montgomery County.

Important Tips:

• Stay up-to-date with changes, cancellations, etc. by subscribing to Alert Montgomery athttps://alert.montgomerycountymd.gov.  
• To report “hot” or sparkling wires, especially those across roadways, call 911.
• To report power outages, call Pepco at 877-737-2662, Allegheny Power at 800-255-3443, or Baltimore Gas & Electric at 877-778-2222.

Status of County Services:

Traffic signals

There are still 125 traffic signals without power out of a total of 800. County Police are directing traffic at many critical intersections throughout the County, assisted by Maryland State Police and Maryland Transportation Police. Drivers are reminded to treat “dark” intersections as four-way stops and be especially aware of pedestrians.

Eighty-six road segments remain closed, all of them involving utility lines

Cooling Centers

Montgomery County continues to operate two “cooling shelters” at Richard Montgomery High School (250 Richard Montgomery Drive in Rockville) and White Oak Community Recreation Center, (1700 April Lane in White Oak.).  Bring prescription medicines, critical phone numbers, and any comfort items such as personal pillows. 

Residents who have cats or dogs and are planning to use a County shelter can drop off their pets at the Humane Society Shelter at 14645 Rothgeb Dr. in Rockville. If it is possible to call first, call the emergency number at 240-773-5900. After 5 p.m. when the shelter has closed for walk-in service, those arriving at the shelter should use the front door buzzer to gain admittance.

Transit

Ride On buses are operating on a regular schedule, but expect delays due to downed trees, wires and signal outages. Nine Ride On routes are detoured, so check the website atwww.rideonbus.com and click on Delays and Detours for the latest information.

Parking

Five garages and lots remain without power.  Payment is required to park at any lot or garage with individual meters. All parking facilities -- with or without power-- are open to the public. If there is still no power to the facilities after dark, they will remain open. However, the public is advised to use extreme caution if they choose to park in a facility without lights.

Community Use of Public Facilities

All community use activities scheduled for Montgomery County Public Schools have been cancelled for Tuesday, July 3.  The Silver Spring Civic Building still has no power. Programs scheduled at the building for Tuesday have been cancelled.

Parks

Several Montgomery Parks facilities, parks, classes and summer camps are cancelled today. Check the website at www.montgomeryparks.org for updated information. To report downed trees, other problems or maintenance issues in parks, contact the Montgomery ParksService Center at 301-670-8080. Visitors are urged to use caution when traveling to or visiting parks or trails as crews are working to remove dangerous or downed trees.

Trash, recycling collections

Recycling collection and County-provided trash collection for single-family households will be provided as regularly scheduled on Tuesday. Residents are reminded to keep weights of containers and bundles of brush to no more than 45 pounds. The Transfer Station will be open to accept dropped off tree limbs and brush.

However, residents are reminded that there will be no County-provided recycling or trash collections on Wednesday, July 4.  Wednesday, Thursday and Friday collections will shift later by one day. The Transfer Station will be closed July 4.

To sign up for trash holiday reminders as email and/or text messages, or for information on cleanup instructions for fallen tree limbs and for disposing of spoiled/rotten food, visitwww.montgomerycountymd.gov/solidwaste. 

Silver Spring TRiPS Commuter Store Hours

The Silver Spring TRiPS Commuter Store is experiencing mechanical problems which are impacting hours of operation.  Hours are temporarily limited to 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.  Please call before visiting during other hours to confirm the store is open.  Repairs should be completed and regular hours restored by mid-week.

The Friendship Heights TRiPS Commuter Store is maintaining normal hours: Monday – Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (closed 1 to 2 p.m.)

Permitting Services

The Department of Permitting Services will provide modified full services (no more than two new permit applications submitted or picked up at the same time).  Emergency and storm-related permits and inspections are a priority but all types of applications will be accepted. Online services are not available at this time.