LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX18) — Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton acknowledged Saturday that the city's winter weather response plan has failed to handle the ice storms, announcing plans to completely revise the city's approach to severe weather events.
"What used to be a very rare occurrence – a significant ice storm, followed by an extended period of extreme cold - has now occurred two years in a row," Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton saidin a press release. "It's clear that ice storms and extreme cold are part of our winters now. They are incredibly hard to handle, and the plan we have can't adapt to more severe weather."
The admission comes as frustrated residents continue dealing with icy and hard to travel on roads following the latest winter storm. Gorton said the city will reach out to municipalities with more experience handling ice and extreme cold to develop a new "snow and ice plan."
After the 2025 ice storm, Lexington invested an additional $2 million in new equipment and contract labor to improve its winter weather response.
"We thought that would be enough. Clearly, we need to do more," Gorton said.
The mayor did not specify what additional investments or changes the revised plan might include, saying only that "there are no easy answers."
Gorton said some city snowplow crews have faced harassment from a frustrated resident. She said one crew helping Fayette County Schools "earned a cheap, political online attack" for their efforts, while another crew was jeered at while working on a street.
"Let's all take a step back and find a little patience," Gorton said. "Now is the time to pull together as a community."
The mayor described requests for crew assistance as "enormous" as teams continue working through the weekend to treat roads, open turn lanes and major intersections, clear school bus routes, and remove ice piles from major roads.
City crews and contractors are using heavy equipment, including front-end loaders and skid steers, to break up ice, primarily working at night when traffic is lighter.
"People are frustrated and want to get back to normal, as do I … I hear you loud and clear," Gorton said.
The mayor did not provide a timeline for when the revised winter weather plan would be completed or implemented.
