City Considers Snow Removal Routes

City Hall asked Public Works Director Bryson Baker to develop plans to clear snow from residential streets.

Currently, it is difficult for a truck with a 12-foot snow blade to maneuver among parked cars on an 18-foot wide street covered with snow, Baker said to council members during the March 10 work meeting at City Hall, 2101 Jeffco Blvd.

Drivers are instructed to call supervisors if it is unsafe to plow a residential street, Baker said. Supervisors drive to the location and make the final decision whether a plowing the street would damage property.

“Residents are the ones who suffer the most after a snowstorm,” Baker said.

An ordinance requiring residents to park in their driveways or garages on snow nights might be a problem, Baker said. The snow day decision usually occurs overnight, after residents have parked their cars and fallen asleep.

Enforcing an ordinance at 3 a.m., for example, is the next problem, Baker said. “Do you have the police ticket and tow the parked car or do they knock on the door and have them move it?”

Major R. L Shular, of the Arnold Police Department, said that police officers have extra duties during a snowstorm. “Officers patrol the highway, respond to drivers unable to get up slick hills and deal with car accidents,” Shular said.

An ordinance requiring all residents to park in driveways or garages, prior to plowing the street, might cause problems among neighbors, said Ward 4 Councilman Jason Connell. If one or more cars are parked on the street, preventing snowplows from plowing the street, some neighbors might not be able to leave for work, Connell said.

Requiring residents to park on a one side of the street would cause other problems. Some residents would never get their side of the street plowed, said Ward 3 Councilman Paul Freese.

Other residents use their garages as storage or have homes that are lower than the street, Ward 3 Councilman Bob Lindsley said. “So they park on the road to avoid climbing an icy driveway.” 

Lindsley also said some residents have more cars than parking spaces. “So where to those people supposed park their cars, on the lawns? What is the penalty for that?”

Council members asked Baker to study the problems and provide several plans to them in the coming months. Members would consider and discuss the options prior to creating an ordinance.

A public awareness program about the difficulty removing snow on residential streets might be the short-term solution, the members said.