Green Bay Snow Removal Guidelines
- Whenever snow falls and sticks to the roadway, DPW deploys trucks to plow and salt primary streets and bus routes
- If snow accumulation exceeds two (2) inches, then DPW plows all streets in the City
NOTE: The “snow accumulation” term used above refers to the depth of snow on the street. It is not the official snowfall reported by the National Weather Service. Accumulation on the street can be less than the official snowfall because pavement temperatures can be higher than ground temperatures. Snow tends to consolidate on pavement. So it typically takes more than two than two (2) inches of National Weather Service snow to equal two (2) inches of roadway/plowable snow.
Property owners' obligation to shovel sidewalks within a certain timeframe – following is text taken directly from City of Green Bay Municipal Code Chapter 9.30, entitled “SNOW REMOVAL”
(1) SIDEWALKS. The lessee, occupant of first or ground floor, or person having charge of a building, or if there be no lessee, occupant, or person having charge, the owner of each parcel of real estate in the City abutting or bordering upon any street, avenue, highway, or other public place shall remove or cause to be removed all snow and ice from the sidewalk in front of or adjacent to such premises to the full paved width of such sidewalk within 24 hours after such snow or ice has fallen or accumulated thereon; provided where footways or sidewalks have not been paved or duly established, snow and ice shall be removed to a width of not less than 4' from that portion of the street or way which is used in common as a footway.
(2) RAILROAD TRACKS NOT TO BE BLOCKED. No person shall throw, place, or pile or assist others in throwing, placing, or piling any snow, ice, or other impediment or obstruction to the running of cars upon the tracks of any railroad company in the space between the rails thereof or in a space between a track and a line 3' outside each rail.
(3) DEPOSIT ON STREETS PROHIBITED. No person shall throw or put, or cause to be thrown or put, any snow or ice into any street, avenue, or other public place in the City.
(4) REMOVAL OF SNOW FROM ROOFS. The lessee, occupant, or person having charge or if there be no lessee, occupant, or person having charge, the owner of any building abutting upon or so near to any public street or place that snow or ice may fall from the roof thereof into or upon such street or place, or upon the sidewalk thereof, shall cause all snow and ice to be removed from such roof within 24 hours after the same has ceased falling or forming or shall provide suitable guards so that the ice or snow will not be discharged upon the sidewalk.
(5) WHEN CITY HAS TO DO WORK. Whenever any owner, lessee, occupant, or person have charge of any parcel of real estate fails or neglects to remove snow and ice from any such sidewalk or roof as provided in this section, the Director of Public Works may, without notice, have the ice and snow removed therefrom, keeping an accurate account of the expenses of keeping the sidewalks clear of snow and ice in all cases where owners or occupants of abutting lots fail to do so and report the same to the Comptroller, who shall annually prepare a statement of the expenses so incurred in front of each lot or parcel of land and report the same to the City Clerk. The amount therein charged to each lot or parcel of land shall be entered by the City Clerk in the tax roll as a special tax against such lot or parcel of land, and the same shall be collected in all respects like other taxes upon real estate. The imposition and collection of any fine or penalty prescribed by this section shall not bar the right of the City to collect the cost of the removal of snow and ice from the sidewalks and roofs as herein provided.
Not parking on the street during snow emergencies – Snow emergencies are declared under widely varying conditions. There is no hard and fast rule. But when a snow emergency is declared, all media are notified approximately six (6) hours prior to the beginning of the event, or as far in advance as possible. During a snow emergency, all streets must remain free of parked vehicles until plowed. If a snow emergency is still in effect BUT your street has been plowed, you may park your vehicle back on the road without penalty. The primary reason for establishing a snow emergency is to provide enough space to effectively plow streets after large snowfall events.
Suggestions on salting driveways – Do not use de-icing agents (salt or chemical) if at all possible. They degrade the pavement and are harmful to the environment. If you must use them, clean as much snow from the pavement first. Then use only as much de-icing agent as necessary to cause melting action. Placing a lot of de-icing agent down all at once does not speed the melting process. Give it time to work. Then add more if necessary. Salt is very ineffective at pavement temperatures below 10 to 15 degrees Fahrenheit. Even if the air temperature is below 32 degrees, residual snow/ice (whatever is left after shoveling) on pavement will melt form the radiant heat of direct sunlight. Darker pavements (asphalt) melt snow/ice faster than lighter pavements (gravel, concrete).
Normal plowing expectations – Expectations by residents are outlined in the ordinance excerpt above. Following are a couple more pointers:
1. Drive slower and maintain longer following distances in inclement weather
2. The City will clear snow as close to the curb as possible
3. Plows cannot not scrape roadways perfectly clean. Residue left form plowing activity will melt and evaporate from radiant energy and salt drippings off of cars.
4. Snow will be pushed into driveway aprons by normal plowing action. Contrary to popular belief, plow operators do not plow more or less snow into anybody’s driveway than anybody else’s.
5. Do not ask plow operators to clear out the end of your driveway. They cannot and are not authorized to do it. If they do it for one, it’s not fair to not do it for the rest of the 35,000 households in the City. Everybody gets treated the same. DPW does not have time for individual snowplowing activities.
6. Stay back about 200 feet behind a snowplow. Do not tailgate a salt spreader truck. You will not have better traction driving over freshly-spread salt because it has not had a chance to melt anything yet.
7. Do not pass a snow plow in a cloud of snow
Who to call if there's a problem – if you have a DPW-related issue (routine or emergency issue) between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday (excluding holidays) call 448-3535. If you have a DPW-related emergency issue outside of the hours noted above, call 492-3735. Do not call the emergency number with routine issues that can wait until the next business day.
Website - The City will post on it's homepage whenever a snow emergency is in effect