Snow Removal Information
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.
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.
The city has a snow emergency route. In the event that the Director of Public Works declares a snow emergency, all parking along the route will be prohibited. Signs are posted along this route, and a map is included below. 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.
Property owners are expected to cooperate with the City's snow removal efforts. Pushing snow from driveways or sidewalks into the street is prohibited, including snow from win rows left by snow plows. Property owners are required to clear sidewalks within 24 hours from the beginning of the storm, so as to allow pedestrians/students to use the said sidewalks with safety. Occasionally, privately owned items (mailboxes, lawn sprinklers, etc.) placed on city property are damaged by snow plows. Repair of these items will not be the responsibility of the city.
The City of York, Nebraska makes every effort to remove snow from its streets as safely and efficiently as possible. Please note that this policy is intended as a guideline, and may be deviated from at the discretion of the Director of Public Works or the Street Superintendent.
It is Important to note the second attachment below relating to the newly reconstructed streets. These streets cannot receive salt applications through this first winter, as salt application will damage the concrete. There are signs in these areas that indicate "Caution Surface Not Salted". City crews will be applying an ice control gravel as necessary on the newly reconstructed streets. We urge residents to use caution and lower speeds while traveling these streets during inclement weather conditions.
