BALTIMORE, MD. (OCTOBER 30, 2012) - Today, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake provided residents with an update on the city’s efforts to recover from Hurricane Sandy.   All travel restrictions are lifted at noon today.  City streets are open to all motorists.  Parking restrictions in Fells point are lifted accept for streets closed due to flooding. City Government and City Offices are all open beginning tomorrow, operating on normal schedules and the Charm City Circulator will resume service tomorrow. Video of this morning's briefing. Tonight, Police, Fire and EMS will maintain a strong and visible presence as BGE continues to restore power. “The number-one focus throughout this storm, and for the duration of our recovery effort, is public safety,” said Mayer Rawlings-Blake. “Our Police and Fire and EMS were all out in full force last night, and responded to every single 911 call As the clean-up effort takes place in the coming days, we ask the residents for their patience, assistance, and support.  I want to thank all of our emergency workers and city crews for all the hard work they’ve done over the last 48 hours." Hurricane Sandy brought six and a half inches of rain, sustained winds of about 40 miles per hour, and wind gusts of 67 miles per hour. As of this morning, the city has received reports of more than 230 trees down—more than half in the roads.  Mayor Rawlings-Blake deployed more than 40 forestry crews to clear downed trees from critical roadways.  Residents are asked to call 311 with reports of downed trees and other storm related damage.  Residents can also report downed trees by downloading Baltimore’s 311 Mobile App from the Mayor’s Twitter Page: @MayorSRB. Mayor Rawlings-Blake reminded residents that numerous dangers remain on city streets, including downed power lines, heavy debris, and flooding. People should not drive or walk through standing water.  There are seventeen traffic signals out of power throughout the city. Many more are running on temporary generators. Residents are urged advised to treat these intersections as four-way stops - it's the law. As of 10:00 a.m. Baltimore Gas and Electric is reporting about 220 downed wires and 14,000 customers without power in Baltimore City. If you see downed wires call BGE immediately at 1.877.778.2222. The make-up trash day for today’s cancelled trash collection will occur on Saturday. The city will have storm debris collection sites for citizens this week. Please call 311 for locations and hours. For citizens in need of shelter tonight, three shelters will remain open throughout the city at the following locations:

•     War Memorial Building, Lexington and Gay Streets
•     Oliver Community Center, 1400 East Federal Street
•     Forest Park High School, 3701 Eldorado Avenue

Citizens using shelters should bring needed supplies, including medications when necessary. The shelters are staffed by Baltimore Housing and the American Red Cross.