City council reviews snow removal policy

Alexis Barker
NLJ Reporter
 
The Newcastle City Council is currently reviewing a snow removal policy draft for the city. The policy, according to City Engineer Mike Moore, is a written document describing the policy that has been used in previous years. 
“The policy is more or less guidelines for public works,” Moore said. “It is more or less what has been done in the past.” 
The policy is a way to be more proactive and educate the people of the community of the city’s snow removal plans, Moore said. The proposed policy was created by Public Works Supervisor Greg Stumpff based on an unwritten policy that has been used for years. The policy draft states that the Public Works Department “routinely” provides snow removal and ice control services on city streets and sidewalks. The work is performed, according to the document, “following a priority pattern designed to provide service to the greatest number of motorists where the need is most crucial.”
The document notes that the city crew’s small numbers make it “unreasonable, unsafe and impractical for all roads in the city to be cleared immediately.” For that reason, the city has designated a street and sidewalk priority list for snow removal and ice control. 
“The typical snow and ice control begins at 4:00 a.m. plowing, 5:00 a.m. sidewalks, and 7:00 a.m. windrow removal,” the draft states. 
A windrow, according to the policy, is the mound of snow piled in the middle of the streets during plowing. The document states that individuals may add their removed snow to the windrows, as long as it is done before the windrow is removed. 
The document advises people who choose to move their snow into a windrow that it can be a “dangerous act” and that motor vehicles and public works equipment have the right of way. After the windrow is removed by the city, individuals are responsible for removing their snow themselves, and to not push the snow or ice into the streets or gutters. 
Not all streets are designated as windrow streets, according to the draft, with several streets using a system that plows the snow to the side of the road. 
“Many times the public works department receives calls regarding snowplow trucks depositing snow at the end of driveways or in front of mailboxes. This is a reality of snow plowing and cannot be helped,” the draft states. “If our roads are to be plowed, some of the snow must be pushed to the side of the road.” 
The document encourages people to help neighbors who may be unable to remove the snow from their driveways or in front of their mailboxes. The document acknowledges that snow removal and ice control efforts will vary “quite considerably,” depending on the storm and amount of snow received. 
“Timing of the snow fall is critical to when the snowplowing operation starts,” the document states. 
The typical start times for ice control and snow removal might be delayed if “there is too much snow expected to fall later in the morning or the visibility is such that safety would be compromised,” according to the document. 
Listed within the document are several storm situations and how city public works employees would handle them. A sleet storm, for example, would primarily be an ice control operation involving the use of mag-chloride spreaders and only level one streets would have snow removed. 
The draft acknowledges that granular mag-chloride, despite its known environmental drawbacks, is still used in ice control operations and sand use is avoided because it tends to fill and clog storm drains and introduces large amounts of dust, contributing to poor air quality. 
“A less than four-inch snowfall would find plow trucks and salt spreaders concentrating on level one, level two and level three priority roads,” the proposed policy states. “Level four and level five priority streets may not be plowed or have mag-chloride applied during these small events.” 
Snowstorms involving four inches or more of snow would involve initial snow removal and ice control concentration on level one, level two and level three priority roads. An ongoing effort, according to the draft, would be made to keep these top-three levels open during the storm, with additional effort being made on the lower two levels of roads. The document says that alleys are “too narrow” for snow removal and will not be plowed unless garbage collection cannot be done. 
“Everyone should understand that there can be no standard plan for snow and ice control which can be followed as each storm event is different,” the document states. 
Parking lot snow removal performed by city crews will take place early in the morning before the business opens, the draft says. It notes that it is “extremely difficult” to remove snow from a parking lot with vehicles parked in it, therefore removal will be avoided after opening hours, unless necessary. 
“The City of Newcastle routinely removes snow and ice from city owned parking lots. The parking lots adjacent to Main Street will be cleaned with priority level one sidewalks,” the draft states. “Other parking lots will be cleaned as a priority level five. They will be cleaned during regular working hours.” 
City public works crews also routinely remove snow and ice from certain sidewalks that are adjacent to city property, public ways or through city property. These sidewalks will be cleared during regular working hours, except for sidewalks designated priority level one. 
“The public works department will remove snow and ice on level one sidewalks starting at 5 a.m. and will not remove snow and ice after 7:30 a.m. due to public safety concerns,” the proposed document states. Individuals wishing to remove snow for personal, commercial or industrial properties to any public street are required to register with the city; no charge is associated with the registration and a license is not issued. 
“Personal operated snow removal equipment that is operated on a city street or sidewalk, that moves snow to a location that will impede vehicle or pedestrian traffic shall be subject to city ordinance section 22-3: obstructing passage on roadway etc. and section 22-9.1: blockage of gutters and drainage system,” the document states. 
The council plans to review and possibly approve the snow removal policy at its next regularly scheduled meeting on Nov. 5.