Less than 24 hours before the City of Buffalo was anticipating its first snow accumulation of December, Mayor Byron Brown declared the city's streets personnel ready not just for the forecasted weather but for the entire coming winter season.

WBFO's Michael Mroziak reports.

Mayor Brown announced that the city has added five recently purchased pieces of snow-fighting equipment, four plows and one highlight/plow, bringing its total fleet to 80 pieces of equipment.

Since 2006, the city has spent $9.6 million on such vehicles.

"We have invested very heavily in snow-fighting equipment to make sure we are ready in the City of Buffalo for whatever Mother Nature throws at us," Brown said.

Additionally, the city will start the season with an estimated 9,000 tons of road salt at its disposal. Global Positioning System gear has already been installed on the latest vehicles.

Public Works Commissioner Steve Stepniak was among the department heads who explained the changing preparations that go into attacking snow-covered streets each winter.

"We strategize each year on how we can get better," Stepniak said. "What we look at, and one of the concerns that residents have is the volume of cars that we have on the roadway. As our city develops and continues to grow, we have more cars out there which narrows some of the roadways on the West Side and things like that."

The commissioner says they continue to include feedback from the city's 3-1-1 phone hotline as part of the planning process.

Mayor Brown announced that the city's winter parking rules and bus route regulations, which usually begin on November 15 but were suspended due to mild weather conditions, will take effect at 1:30 a.m. Wednesday morning.

He also hinted that, with making this public announcement, there will be no grace period.

"Please don't say you forgot. There's snow coming tonight and overnight and so the winter parking regulations on the bus routes are going to be enforced," said Brown.