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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSnow and Ice Policy Snow & Ice Policy Adopted 5/2024 Pg. 1 DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS 114 Seven Mile Dr 14850 607.273.1656 www.town.ithaca.ny.us SNOW & ICE CONTROL POLICY Table of Contents 1. INTRODUCTION 2. SNOW AND ICE CONTROL GOALS 3. LEVEL OF SERVICE 4. WINTER WEATHER MONITORING 5. EQUIPMENT 6. DISPATCH OF EQUIPMENT 7. MATERIALS AND PLOWING PROCEDURES 8. MAILBOXES AND MAIL DELIVERY 9. DRIVEWAYS 10. DEPOSITING SNOW ON A HIGHWAY 11. LANDSCAPING AND LAWN DAMAGE 12. SERVICE REQUESTS, INQURIES AND COMPLAINTS 13. EXCEPTIONS 14. HOW THE PUBLIC CAN HELP 15. WINTER DRIVING TIPS 16. REVIEW OF POLICY Snow & Ice Policy Adopted 5/2024 Pg. 2 1. INTRODUCTION This policy is intended to provide the Town of Ithaca Residents, Town of Ithaca Town Board, motoring public, public transportation, emergency service agencies and the Town’s Department of Public Works (DPW) personnel with general information regarding snow and ice removal operations, level of service, and how the public can help and to serve. It is also intended to be a guideline and training tool for the DPW employees. The Town of Ithaca DPW is responsible for the maintenance and repair of 49.88 centerline miles of Town roads and approximately 7.88 miles of pedestrian trails. The department also has a snow and ice agreement in place with Tompkins County Highway Department that adds an additional 5.72 miles to the Town’s snowplow routes. The Department has no greater challenge than during the winter snow and ice season when it is tasked with providing passable roads and pedestrian trails for routine travel and emergency services during and after a snow or ice event. 2. SNOW AND ICE CONTROL GOALS The snow and ice control goals of the Town’s DPW shall be to maintain town roads in a passable driving condition for the motoring public in a safe, cost-effective manner with motorist safety, budget constraints, and DPW personnel safety in mind. Town Staff will be dedicated to continuously monitoring weather and road conditions to enable the DPW to determine an effective response to an approaching winter storm event or a storm that has arrived. The department will monitor ongoing and past snow and ice control operations, strategies and costs and educate the public regarding what levels of service can be expected prior to, during and after a storm. Information will also be provided to the public to inform them how they can assist the DPW to perform its best throughout snow and ice removal operations. 3. LEVEL OF SERVICE A.) ROADS It is not the policy of the Town of Ithaca DPW to provide continually bare roads or to provide snow and ice control services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It is not possible to maintain a bare road surface during or immediately following a snow or ice event. The department’s snow and ice monitoring operations typically run from October 1st through April 1st with leeway provided as needed. The Town has, and will continue, to staff weekly alternating snowplow teams, with mechanics assigned to each team, and a 3-person night shift. Typical hours of operation are Monday through Friday 6:30am to 3:00pm for the day shift and Sunday through Friday 7:00pm thru 3:30am for the night shift. Overlapping hours are sometimes utilized for continuous events with focus on morning and evening commuter travel times. Sections of roadways improved for winter travel may continue to have residual snow and ice in a compacted condition until warmer temperatures or de-icing materials are applied to allow for complete melt-off after a storm. These conditions may be continuous, or they may be localized in Snow & Ice Policy Adopted 5/2024 Pg. 3 certain areas of the road depending on temperature, wind velocity, direction, and other factors. The DPW will continue to monitor and de-ice these areas as necessary. B.) SIDEWALKS, TRAILS, AND WALKWAYS It is not the policy of the Town of Ithaca DPW to provide continuous service to the Town’s pedestrian facilities. In any event, the main priority of snow removal is clearing the roadway with the pedestrian facilities becoming the secondary priority. The DPW currently utilizes staff to provide snow and ice removal throughout various areas of the Town to clear surfaces after winter weather events. There are also areas in the Town in which the property owners are required to provide snow removal for pedestrian traffic as outlined in Town of Ithaca Code 230-7, maintenance of sidewalks. In these areas, the Town will still monitor these facilities for safety. This being established, the Town does view pedestrian trails as a priority. The Department of Public Works will utilize a sidewalk/trail crew during snow and ice events. Much of the time, this is done congruently with clearing of the roadway. Depending on the significance of the event, sidewalks may wait until regular hours to be cleared (so long as the event does not warrant clearing urgently, i.e. no hazardous areas). This is determined at the discretion of the on-call supervisor. A dedicated sidewalk/trail crew is always on call with intent to clear these pedestrians’ rights of way. 4. WINTER WEATHER MONITORING During the winter months the Town of Ithaca’s DPW Deputy Highway Superintendent, Parks Maintenance Manager, Water and Sewer Maintenance Supervisor, and assigned Supervisor of the night shift are responsible for monitoring the conditions of the road and pedestrian facilities throughout the Town. These managers will also use infrared road temperature sensors, local weather information, and cameras located in areas around the Town to assist with their monitoring. The managers will also be responsible for initiating calls to on call staff to respond to winter weather events. 5. EQUIPMENT The Town of Ithaca DPW will acquire, maintain, repair, and replace equipment as the annual Town budget allows. To provide for utilization of equipment in a cost-effective manner, the Town may use trucks with plows and material application equipment, front-end loaders, snow blowers, and brooms as necessary for the control of snow and ice on its roads and pedestrian facilities. The Department will pursue and utilize automated snow and ice controls that are calibrated and tested prior to each snow season. Annual calibration and maintenance of the controls are essential. to overall cost-effective snow and ice control operations. The type of controllers used by the Town of Ithaca are groundspeed controllers that apply salt at a rate relative to the travel speed of the truck. This reduces excessive application of materials during slow travel speeds. Plow truck operators can adjust the pre-set application rate for curves and intersections as needed from inside the trucks. 6. DISPATCH OF EQUIPMENT The dispatch of snow and ice control operations for any snow or ice event is dependent on the immediate and anticipated weather conditions. Upon visual inspection of the existing conditions Snow & Ice Policy Adopted 5/2024 Pg. 4 on various roads and monitoring weather predictions of anticipated conditions, snow monitoring will initiate snow and ice control operations by calling in the necessary personnel and dispatching of equipment as required. The response time will be as soon as possible depending on how fast the existing road conditions allow personnel to report to work. 7. MATERIALS AND PLOWING PROCEDURES Typical main plow beats can take up to approximately 4 hours to travel depending on the winter weather event. During weather events which include severe intensities, salt will not be applied as it is considered a waste as it is pushed off the road before it is effective. In these situations, DPW staff will work to get the roads cleared until a deicing solution can be applied and effective. Plowing typically ends when the storm ends and roads have been made passable for travel. Drift plowing and pushing back accumulated snow along the roadside will continue after the storm as necessary. The Town of Ithaca currently uses a Type 2 Salt mixture on approximately 105 lane miles they plow. The salt is specified and procured though the New York State Office of General Services – Road Salt, Treated Salt, & Emergency Standby Road Salt. The salt helps prevent the wintertime precipitation from bonding to the asphalt surfaces and provides some ice-melting capabilities by creating a brine solution that has a lower freezing temperature than the temperature of the surrounding ice. The brine solution is created by a combination of heat from tire friction on the pavement, the sun and moisture in the air and from the accumulated snow on the road. Pure rock salt has a practical working temperature range down to about 20 degrees Fahrenheit while the mixtures for Type I and Type II salt have additives that create a freezing point of -20 degrees or lower. Type I and Type II salt mixtures also include corrosion inhibiting solutions and Organic Based Performance Enhancers (OBPE) that allow the mixture to have less scatter when applied to the roadway surfaces. The Town of Ithaca DPW staff will continuously monitor the technology related to snow and ice removal and work with the respective committees and the Town Board to pursue innovation and cost-effective efficiencies related to road de-icing materials and equipment use for snow and ice removal. 8. MAILBOXES AND MAIL DELIVERY It is the policy of the Town of Ithaca to repair or replace only those mailboxes that have been damaged due to direct contact with the plow or wing. Most damage to mailboxes is caused not by direct contact but by the heavy windrow of snow being carried by the plow blade and deposited along the roadside as the truck moves forward. The sheer weight of the snow is sufficient to cause many mailboxes to become dislodged from the post and may cause posts to be tipped over, bent, or broken off. The Town will not be responsible for mailboxes that are hit and damaged that are not installed according to the United States Postal Service guidelines. (https://www.usps.com/manage/mailboxes.htm). Prior to each snow season, the plow operators will document their assigned routes and make note of those mailboxes that may be a hazard or are already in a state of disrepair, damaged, bent over, etc. for future reference and consideration should a complaint be lodged with the Public Works Department during the snow season. All mailboxes that are in extremely poor condition will be photographed for future reference. Snow & Ice Policy Adopted 5/2024 Pg. 5 If a mailbox and/or post are damaged beyond repair during snow removal operations due to direct contact with the plow or wing, a temporary mailbox will be provided until such time that a permanent replacement can be installed (usually in the spring). Every effort is made by plow operators to remove snow as close to mailboxes as possible to provide access by US Postal Service delivery vehicles. However, it is the responsibility of the resident to provide final cleaning and access adjacent to their mailboxes. 9. DRIVEWAYS During snow removal operations the accumulated windrow of snow being pushed and carried by the plow inevitably gets deposited to the trucks’ right-side shoulder and/or ditch along its route. Driveways along the route also get filled in. The Department of Public Works assumes no responsibility for the removal of snow deposited in driveways as a result of normal snow removal operations. The Public Works Department cannot provide exact times that a certain road will be plowed, and it is not practical to change the angle of the blade to avoid driveways. 10. DEPOSITING SNOW ON A HIGHWAY It is illegal to plow, place, push, throw or otherwise deposit or cause to be deposited, any snow or destructive or injurious material or any material, including waste and recycling containers which interferes with the safe use of the highway per section 1219 of the New York State Vehicle & Traffic Law. 11. LANDSCAPING AND LAWN DAMAGE Landscaping and lawns, including but not limited to shrubs, trees, inanimate objects, etc. installed by a property owner within the ROW will be the responsibility of the owner and the owner assumes all risk of damage to such items. Furthermore, the Town cannot reasonably control drift or discharge of snow and/or shoulder materials from the snowplow into roadside ditches and lawns. Unless there is lawn or landscaping damage off the ROW due to direct contact with the plow or wing, the Town will not be responsible for the removal/repair of any shoulder materials inadvertently cast into adjacent lawn areas by the plow or wing. Town staff will review assigned plow routes in the spring and address any unforeseen damage accordingly. Snow & Ice Policy Adopted 5/2024 Pg. 6 12. SERVICE REQUESTS, INQURIES AND COMPLAINTS All requests, inquiries or complaints about snow and ice control service/operations should be directed to the Town of Ithaca Department of Public Works Department office at (607)273-1656. Normal office hours during the winter snow and ice season are 6:30 AM - 3:00 PM, Monday through Friday. The on-duty Supervisors or other Public Works Department personnel will respond as soon as feasibly possible. During any given severe snow or ice event, the Public Works Department is extremely busy and committed to clearing the roads as quickly as possible and to the best of their ability for the traveling public. It should be noted that at the start of or during a snow or ice event, Department of Public Works Supervisors and snow removal operators will either be enroute or already on duty. During the typical snow and ice control hours of 3:30 AM to 7:00 PM, if it is snowing heavily and/or the roads are icing over, the Department is aware of that fact and is out doing all they can at that particular time. The Public Works Department recommends patience and due caution if travel is required. 13. EXCEPTIONS Each snow or ice event has individual characteristics such as rate of accumulation, temperature, wind velocity and direction, visibility, time of day, etc. associated with it and therefore must be dealt with accordingly. The Town’s Superintendent of Highways and/or their designee(s) reserve the right to alter operational strategies, deviate from these standards or terminate ongoing snow and ice control operations at any time, if it is determined that various factors including but not limited to, the need to rest snowplow crews, equipment failure, extreme snowfall accumulation and conditions which make snow and ice control operations unsafe, unnecessary or ineffective. 14. HOW THE PUBLIC CAN HELP There are several things that motorists and the public can do to help the Public Works Department best perform their snow and ice control duties. • Be patient and be assured that during a snow or ice event every reasonable effort will be made to keep the roads open. • Be considerate of the snowplow operators and do not attempt to pass them while they are in operation. • Do not attempt to stop a snowplow or obstruct its path. Plow trucks, when loaded with sand and salt weigh in excess of 30 tons. That is a lot of weight and responsibility for the driver to deal with and the trucks simply are not as maneuverable and agile as a passenger vehicle. They require extra time and distance to stop or avoid trouble. • When approaching snow removal equipment from the rear, travel a minimum of 200 feet behind the equipment allowing for salting backing up and abrupt movements. • Do not park along the roadway during a snow or ice event. Parked vehicles are a hazard not only to the snowplow operators but the travelling public as well. Any cars that are parked along the roadway will be ticketed and /or towed per Town Code 250-21 (a) • When clearing the end of your driveway entrances near the roadways, pile snow on the right side to prevent having the snowplow fill the driveways back in. Snow & Ice Policy Adopted 5/2024 Pg. 7 • For additional information the town encourages you to sign up for emergency alerts using the TC siren button on the Town of Ithaca’s website under the Department of Public Works landing page. 15. WINTER DRIVING TIPS Winter driving can be very dangerous and requires motorists to be fully alert and aware of their surrounding conditions. There are some things that can be done by motorists to improve their chances for a safe driving experience. Some of the following tips can help: • Don’t drive unless you have to. • If you must drive, drive defensively, wear your seatbelt, turn your headlights on if conditions warrant their use, be alert and exercise extreme caution. Driving on snow and ice packed roads requires your full attention and demands your best driving skills. • Be informed of the current and predicted weather conditions for your area and know your employers’ inclement weather policy. The fewer cars on the road, the more effective the plowing operations. • Prepare your vehicle in advance of inclement weather. Regularly check the battery, antifreeze, windshield wipers, heater and defroster. Have at least a half a tank of fuel and have adequate snow tires or chains on your vehicle. • Clean all snow and ice from your vehicle including all glass areas, headlights and taillights before driving. • Have some basic equipment and extra clothing in your vehicle in case of an accident, long delay or mechanical problems. Some useful items to have are a flashlight, jumper cables, first aid kit, a hat, gloves, boots, blanket, ice scraper and possibly a small shovel. • Allow yourself extra distance between your vehicle and the vehicle in front of you. This is especially true at intersections where other motorists may be skidding and having difficulty stopping their vehicle. • Remember to brake slowly to avoid skidding. • Allow yourself extra time to get to your destination, as you will likely be travelling at a slower speed than normal. This is especially true of vehicles that get caught behind a snowplow. • Aside from the obvious risk of snow collapsing and burying a child, snow piles near roadways may be moved, adjusted, or added to by our snow removal crews during or following snow events. It is not always apparent to snow removal operators that a tunnel system exists in snow piles; the sound from the vehicles can be dampened by the snow, making it difficult for a kid to be alerted of an approaching vehicle and tunnels may have entrances not visible from the road. • Due to liability reasons, be reminded that municipal vehicle are not allow to assist in pulling out stuck vehicles. Snow & Ice Policy Adopted 5/2024 Pg. 8 15. REVIEW OF POLICY The DPW will keep on file comments and complaints regarding this policy. This policy will be reviewed periodically with consideration given to comments received since the last review.