Streets
The City's street department is responsible for street maintenance including: street and alley repair, street sweeping, snow removal, traffic signs, lights and pavement marking, and right-of-way maintenance.
The City of York has 70 miles of streets, 63 miles are hard-surfaced with concrete, asphalt or brick. Seventy-five percent of the streets have curbs and 50 percent have sidewalks. There are no local load restrictions.
Street maintenance includes:
- Street and alley repair
- Storm sewer maintenance
- Street sweeping and snow removal
- Traffic signs, lights and pavement marking
- right-of-way maintenance
The Street Division also operates the Central Garage, which performs services on all City owned vehicles and equipment.
Street Sweeping
The street sweeper covers all the paved streets in town on a regular routine. The town is divided into four zones that are swept at least once monthly. The Central Business District is swept every two weeks in the early morning hours. The efficiency of the sweeping operation is helped if parked vehicles are removed from the street when the sweeper is in the area. Placing debris like tree leaves or grass clippings in the street is not helpful to the sweeping operation and is also a violation of City Ordinance.
Snow Removal
The City of York does its best to clear streets in a timely manner in order to assure the safety of traveling citizens in the event of a winter storm. This policy is intended to provide a guideline as to how the city approaches clearing its streets, so that the traveling public may reach their destinations safely.
Every snowstorm is unique so the snow plan for each storm is directly related to the amount, type and severity of the weather. Ideally, the snow plan is:
Generally, snow removal occurs when accumulations are around three inches. Depending on the snow event, sometimes only certain areas may be plowed, due to traffic volumes.
Major streets (arterials and collectors) that provide access to schools, Central Business District, and primary traffic routes are cleared of ice and snow as soon as possible. Any winter moisture weather event is treated with salt or salt/sand mixture.
In a major snow fall the Central Business District snow may be plowed to windrows first and then hauled away during the night. Central Business District sidewalks should be cleared of snow so that the hauling crew can load out all snow in one operation. No parking in the Central Business District will be allowed during the hauling procedure. Central Business District alleys and parking lots will be cleared during the hauling operation.
The removal of snow and ice from travel corridors is completed in stages. The city prioritizes streets based on public safety services, traffic volumes and functional classifications. Priority will be placed on main arterial roads, public safety services (Hospital, EMS, Fire, Police), schools and high traffic volume streets, while side streets and residential streets will be secondary. Once priority streets are sufficiently cleared, the crews will move to residential areas. Each crew member has primary and secondary routes, again placing priority on public safety services, schools and streets with high traffic volumes. The timing of plowing greatly depends on the timing of a storm and input from the local Public Safety departments. We ask that citizens be patient in the event of a storm, while we diligently work to get all streets cleared. It is the goal of this department to have all streets cleared as soon as possible from the start of plowing, depending on the weather.
Residential streets and alleys are cleared for traffic use when accumulation warrants. Public Works strives to make at least one pass on every residential street after arterial and collector streets have been plowed and within 24 hours after the snowfall has ended. Vehicles parked on the street can keep the snow crew from doing an efficient snow removal operation.
In the event that the Director of Public Works declares a snow emergency, all parking along the route will be prohibited. Signs will be posted along this route, and a map is included with the policy. Should a snow emergency be declared, the city will then treat that route as the first priority for snow removal. The length of time that a snow emergency last, will depend on the conditions. Once all streets on the snow emergency route are sufficiently cleared, crews will then proceed to their secondary routes. Some streets in the downtown area have insufficient space to plow snow to the side of the road. On these streets the snow is piled in the center of the road, with one lane of traffic on both sides of the snow pile. Crews will remove these piles once all other streets are cleared. This typically occurs the day following an event.
Residential sidewalks are required to be cleared within 24 hours of a winter weather snow event. Snow from sidewalks and driveways needs to be deposited in the right-of-way not in the street. Pushing snow into public streets creates a traffic hazard for motorists and is a violation of City Ordinances. Unfortunately, snow crews cannot help from depositing some snow in driveways when plowing streets.
We can all get through a snow event if we work together. The snow removal crews appreciate your cooperation in helping them to make the streets and sidewalks clear and safe in a timely manner. Residents can help further by removing snow from fire hydrants to help the Fire Department should there be an emergency. Removing snow from the mailbox area will also help the Post Office deliver your mail.
Adopt-A-Street
Community minded organizations and families are welcome to participate in the City of York Adopt-A-Street program. This involves "adopting" a section of street to do litter pickup of the roadsides. Several youth organizations and service clubs have found this to be a worthwhile project to include in their program. For more information, contact the Public Works Department at 402-363-2600.