Brentwood Residents Urged to Take Personal Safety Measures During Winter Storm

From the City of Brentwood:

February 13, 2021

Williamson County first responders have seen an increase in accidents over the past three days, responding to approximately 48 fall injury accidents and 171 motor vehicle accidents across the County since February 13th. City Street Departments and the County Highway Department have used more than 1,610 tons of salt on City and County roadways since Sunday in preparation for the storm. Despite this, road conditions continue to worsen. Individuals should take extreme caution when venturing outdoors. Public safety agencies across the County continue to urge the community to stay home.

Winter Safety Tips:

Use salt on outdoor steps, patios, and driveways. If salt is not available, other alternatives could include sand or kitty litter. It is important to keep in mind that while you may have already salted your driveway or steps, current weather conditions may have caused these hard surfaces to refreeze.

Ice accumulation on trees could cause limbs to suddenly fall.

As more ice begins to form on power lines, it is also important to keep your home prepared for any potential power outages.

1. Keep all of your devices charged, including extra power banks. This is especially important for anyone with medical devices that require power. Only use candles in approved holders.
2. Ensure that you have additional lighting sources like flashlights and battery-operated lamps.
3. Check on your neighbors. They may also need resources or assistance.
4. Have additional cold weather gear and blankets set aside in your home.
5. Remember to sign up for the Williamson County Emergency Alert System! This system is shared between the County, Spring Hill, Fairview, Thompson's Station, Nolensville, Franklin and Brentwood.

   • Sign-up here:

     https://member.everbridge.net/3531635643383845/login

Sledding Safety

Injuries often occur when the sled hits a stationary object or the child falls off.

1. Children should have an adult with them when they go sledding.
2. Avoid sledding in areas with trees, fences, light poles, frozen lakes, streams or ponds, or on rocky hills. Surface areas of lakes and ponds may appear to be frozen, but will likely not be frozen enough to support humans.
3. Never tie rope to the back of a vehicle or ATV and pull passengers on a sled or other device.

Williamson County Storm Impacts

This page will have information regarding facility closures, service impacts, and outage map links here: https://tn-williamsoncountyops.civicplus.com/261/Storm-Impacts

City of Brentwood Specific Closures

All Brentwood Parks and the John P. Brentwood Library will be CLOSED all day on Tuesday, Feb 16, 2021 due to weather.

City Hall – offices will be open but we encourage you to do business online as there will be limited employees in the building.

Channel 19 – Brentwood TV – live cameras on for viewing real time road information

Winter Roads Maintenance Information from Brentwood Public Works

Whether you are new to Brentwood or you’ve lived here for a long time, regardless we thought this would be a good time to help you understand the City’s role in winter road maintenance. Middle Tennessee has been fortunate the past two winter seasons, only experiencing a dusting to a half inch of snow on a handful of occasions. Some would speculate that eventually our luck might wear thin, given the drastic increases in the amount of local precipitation over the past four years. Regardless of our luck, when temperatures drop below freezing, we are prone to an eventful winter and seeing some of that favorite white stuff.

The City of Brentwood Public Works Department maintains only a handful of large, medium, and small plow and salt trucks. Our first priority when winter weather hits is to treat the main arterial routes, primary routes, hills, curves, and school zones frist. Franklin Road, Wilson Pike, Concord Road, Moores Lane, and portions of Church Street are state routes under the jurisdiction of the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT). However, like a good neighbor, Brentwood will plow and salt these roads as necessary to help provide safe travel, for motorists and emergency vehicles navigating through the City. Additionally, there are many primary routes such as Maryland Way, Granny White, Murray Lane, Holly Tree Gap, Knox Valley drive, Raintree Parkway, Green Hill Blvd, Sunset Road, Waller Road to name a few which are also treated as necessary. While many people may opt to stay home during inclement winter weather, if you do go out, we encourage only necessary travel. Please use extreme caution and slow down and maintain a safe distance from our plow trucks, allowing them to safely clear the road for you.

With more than 450 lane miles of road in Brentwood, it generally requires some patience as we react to changing conditions. Snow and ice operations are more efficient and safer for everyone, when traffic volumes are low. Please remember that all-wheel drive can help get you going, but it does nothing for your ability to turn or slow down on slippery roads, especially since we have so many hills throughout Brentwood. Please drive slow and exercise caution during inclement weather this winter. Your safety is important to us.

Freezing Temperature Tips from the Brentwood Water Dept.

1. Drip indoor faucets at various locations inside your home to keep water moving to prevent pipes and meters from freezing.
2. Winterize irrigation systems.
3. Disconnect and drain all outside garden hoses.
4. Insulate outside faucets and other various outdoor plumbing fixtures.
5. Close foundation vents and other outside openings to prevent cold air from reaching exposed pipes under your house.

This press release was produced by the City of Brentwood. The views expressed here are the author’s own.