SEATTLE — King County plans to operate snow plows this winter on only 150 of 1,500 miles of roads in unincorporated parts of the county.
County director of road services Brenda Bauer says the county has 100 drivers and equipment operators available, down from 171 in 2009. The tax base has been eroded more than 40 percent in the past four years as unincorporated areas have been annexed by suburban cities.
The Seattle Times reports only 253,000 of the county’s 1.98 million people live in unincorporated areas.
In case of snow, the county says it will focus on primary routes and emergency links to hospitals.
