Atlanta warning residents to be ready for upcoming winter weather
ATLANTA - Atlanta officials say they are ready for the upcoming winter weather and want you to be too.
On Monday, Mayor Andre Dickens and his department heads laid out the city's winter preparation plans and gave out safety tips.
"My No. 1 priority is to make sure Atlanta is a safe city," Dickens said.
From crime reduction to road cleanup to preventing winter house fires, just about all aspects of cold weather safety were touched on.
Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said this holiday season his department has everyone - investigators included - out on the streets in uniform.
The Atlanta Police Department is encouraging people to be ready for package deliveries and to not leave anything in your vehicle - which should only be running if you're inside it.
Winter is Atlanta Fire and Rescue's busiest season of the year.
Fire Chief Rod Smith reminded residents to keep Christmas trees watered, inspect fireplaces, to not leave food cooking on the stove or in the oven unattended, and to make sure candles and space heaters have plenty of room.
"We really don't want to be coming to your home, but if we do, rest assured we will be coming," Smith said.
The Department of Transportation works closely with the National Weather Service and state officials to coordinate when to send brine trucks out on the roads. While these trucks are out, drivers should slow down and give crews plenty of room to work. '
Warming shelters around metro Atlanta
Because of the cold weather, many cities and counties around metro Atlanta have opened warming shelters.
DeKalb County has four shelters open. You can see all the locations and transportation options here.
Gwinnett County has five locations, which can be found here.
Cobb County has one location open at The Hope House on Bells Ferry Road.
In Atlanta, the city has opened two warming centers at Central Park Recreation Center at 400 Merritts Ave. NE and Old Adamsville Recreation Center at 3404 Delmar Ln NW. Both shelters will be open from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. on Wednesday.