Public safety is the first priority during snow and ice control on the city's 1,400 miles of streets. DPW's Sanitation, Buildings & Fleet, and Forestry Divisions and supervise the snow and ice control operations.

The size of the operation is based on the severity of the storm. We will use only one or two salt trucks to tackle intermittent salting of isolated slippery spots, but a full scale plowing for a big storm will use over 360 pieces of our equipment, and supplemental equipment operated by contractors. The most common operation is a General Ice Control in which 90 salt trucks are sent out citywide and is supervised from DPW's six sanitation districts.

When a major storm comes, a General Plowing is called. It may take 12 to 18 hours to complete, depending on how severe the storm is. After the initial plowing, there's more work to do. We clear snow islands left by parked cars, touch up intersections and widen the passages on residential streets. Cleanup goes on several days after a storm.

The city attempts to salt arterial streets at the beginning of a snowstorm. This helps prevent bonding of snow to the pavement and reduces the amount of snow to be plowed later.

Sometimes plows must make four to six passes down a street to clear it curb to curb. The city tries to do this at one time so residents can shovel out driveways and sidewalks. It is best to wait, if possible, until we've finished plowing before shoveling out your driveway approach.

The single biggest problem in snow plowing is parked and abandoned cars. Those cars present obstacles to our plows, which we try to get as close to the curb as we can. We regularly return to plow "snow islands" left by parked cars. If you see an area where a car is moved after the plow goes by, please call your Sanitation district office.

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