Home Page | City Council | City Government | Feedback | Search

Copyright © 2002 City of Longmont, All Rights Reserved
Main Address: City of Longmont, 350 Kimbark Street, Longmont, CO 80501 | 303-776-6050 | Privacy Policy
Links to external sites do not constitute endorsements by the City of Longmont.
By visiting this and other City of Longmont web pages, you expressly agree to be bound by the policies of the site.

Parks Maintenance Snow and Ice Control Plan 2012

Purpose

The purpose of the snow and ice control plan is to describe the locations and services provided to the community during and after snow events. Areas included in this plan are city facilities and parking lots, LDDA designated areas, designated arterial sidewalks, park sidewalks, and greenways.

The primary purpose of the Parks Maintenance Snow & Ice Control Plan is to organize snow and ice response efforts so that safest possible access to city facilities and park systems are available during and after snowstorms. The plan identifies specific Longmont city facilities, greenways, designated arterial sidewalks and the downtown development district. The plan also identifies the priorities in which these locations are addressed. This plan is reviewed every year prior to the snow season, typically in September, by the appropriate leadership staff to ensure an updated plan, maps and readiness of staff and equipment. The Parks Maintenance Snow & Ice Control Plan is designed to direct cost-effective maintenance efforts during periods of snow or ice.

In order to make the Parks Maintenance Snow and Ice Control Plan effective, it requires the cooperation of many people including multiple City departments, vendors, contractors and, most importantly, the citizens of the City.

The Snow and Ice Control Plan also incorporate Best Management Practices to aid in efforts to preserve air and water quality in our community. Efforts are placed in the selection of granular and liquid products, its distribution rates, and sweeping efforts after snow events.

Deployment Guidelines

The decision to deploy snow operations is based on predicted weather conditions, air and ground temperatures, accumulation and the potential for back to back storms. Our deployment decisions include:

• Detection: To forecast the severity of an anticipated snow event; weather conditions are monitored by following regional forecasts, and other weather service products as well as managers, supervisors and on-call staff, observe weather locally.

• Monitor: Once accumulation occurs, park maintenance employees are informed that snow operations will begin when they report for duty.

• Deployment Decision: The Supervisor assigned to the snow event is responsible for the deployment of the snow teams. The parks maintenance division categorizes snow response in three levels dependent upon several factors which include expected accumulation, air and ground temperature, the type of snow, and the potential for back to back storms. The supervisor in charge then determines the level of deployment based upon the need.

Level One Deployment

1. Level one is considered for snow and ice events where accumulation is little or none and no other storms are expected.
2. Deployment for level one snow events is typically during regular work hours.
3. Selected locations such as City facilities, the LDDA area, and shaded areas prone to ice accumulation, are treated as needed. Some locations will not be treated or plowed because the snow is expected to melt on its own in a relatively short period of time. (a couple days).
4. Full deployment of all snow team members is not typical at this level of storm. Deployment occurs as needed; the purpose is to sand or de-ice specific locations with accumulation or called in by the Police dispatch, Risk Management and City facility managers.
5. A limited number of park maintenance employees are assigned to these duties and the rest of the employees are assigned other park maintenance related work assignments. Employees are selected by the supervisor assigned to the snow event.

Level Two Deployment

• A level two deployment is considered for snow events with accumulations up to fifteen inches with the possibility of back-to-back storms.

• All employees are deployed for snow and ice response.

• Staff initially to focus upon the Civic /DDA area and open city facility entrances, once completed, staff will be distributed to assigned areas.

• The teams are deployed in the following manner:

• City Facilities entrances- two teams that will work eight hour shifts, 4:00am- 12:30pm and 12:00pm- 8:30pm. This teams ensure that entrances to open city facilities are plowed and accessible to customers

• City facility parking lots- two shifts begin at 4:00 am to plow city parking lots. Once completed they are assigned to other areas as needed.

• LDDA street plowing- Employees are placed on a shift rotation to manage the street areas within Area 6 within the LDDA, that are included in the street maintenance snow and ice control plan. They are deployed at the same time and duration as the street maintenance teams. They also plow all designated city parking lots and Civic/LDDA lots.

• All remaining staff will report for duties from 6:00 am to 2:30 pm and begin their shift by focusing snow plowing in the Civic/ LDDA areas. Once complete, employees are deployed to their designated areas.

The snow and Ice response plan consists of plowing, sanding, de-icing and vehicle cleaning and maintenance. Limited and/or targeted snow removal operations are possible. Other department staff assistance may be required for greater snow accumulations. Private contractors may be called in to assist city crews.

Winter storms that result in fallen branches and tree damage will result in a focused approach to manage the fallen branches. This may reduce the snow response service in the lower prioritized areas and will resume after the downed branch response is complete.

Level Three Deployment

• Transition from level two to level three deployments is based upon the predicted forecast of snow storms with accumulation of fifteen inches or greater and additional accumulation expected.
• Declaration by the City Manager of a snow emergency and the activation of the City’s Emergency Operations Center.
• Incident commander will assume duty. The purpose of the incident commander is to maintain and deploy resources based upon our Snow and Ice Control Plan. Eligible staff to assume the role of Incident Commander includes the Street Maintenance & Solid Waste Operations Manager, Utility Operations and Maintenance Manager, Public Works Supervisors, Utility Operations Supervisors, Construction Inspection Supervisors.
• Liaison staff will assume duty. Purpose of the liaison is to receive and disseminate information, which includes press info, special requests, etc. Eligible staff to assume the role of Liaison includes the Department Director, and Department Division Managers.
• Public Information Officer is placed On-Call.
• Entire snow team called for duty. Scheduled work hours may be extended to provide the necessary support to other departments and divisions.
• Other department staff assistance will be needed.
• Contractors may be called to assist city crews.
• Walk to school routes will be cleared if schools are open; this may be completed by City staff or contractor services.
• Snow removal in many areas of the City.
• Resumption and continuation of critical City services including Trash, Water, Electric, etc.

Priority Strategy

1. Open City Facilities and the Civic LDDA areas

• Entrances and parking lots at open city facilities
• Quail Campus- Recreation Center and Museum
• Civic Center/ Library
• Safety and Justice Center
• Development Center
• Centennial Pool
• Memorial Building
• Youth Center

Staff will first plow the entrances so customers have a plowed path to the facilities. Once all facilities have a path cleared and the snow has slowed or stopped, staff will begin the plowing of all sidewalks that lead to the facility. This is primarily shovel work with the use of snow blowers where possible.

Downtown / LDDA

• Sidewalks from building to curb along Main street from 2nd to Longs Peak Ave and side streets to the alleys, including the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th Avenues to the alley each side from Main street.
• Parking spaces along Main Street plowed and snow piled in the last one or two parking spaces along the end of the street segment.
• Accumulated snow will be piled in the designated locations, map attached
• LDDA parking lots are to be plowed
• 300 west
• 400 west
• 500 west
• 200 east
• 300 east
• 400 east
• 500 east
• Alleys on the east and west side of Main street from 2nd to 6th Avenues
• All Breezeways
• St. Stevens plaza

1. Designated arterials sidewalks
2. Greenways
3. Park sidewalks and parking lots

Depending upon weather conditions, designated arterial sidewalks, greenways and park sidewalks may not be plowed until the snow event has ended and the higher priority locations have been addressed.

Municipal Code

9.04.130. - Snow and ice on sidewalks—Owner or occupant responsibility.

A. Within 24 hours after any snow or ice stops falling on a public sidewalk, it is the duty of:

1. Every owner and manager of property abutting the sidewalk; and

2. Every tenant leasing an entire premises abutting the sidewalk; and

3. Every adult occupant of a single-family dwelling abutting the sidewalk to remove or cause the removal from public sidewalks abutting the property accumulated snow and ice, as this section provides.

B. Each responsible person listed above shall remove or cause the removal of snow and ice to expose the abutting public sidewalk for the entire width of the sidewalk or the width of four feet, whichever is less.

C. After removing snow and ice as required above, each responsible person listed above shall keep the abutting sidewalk reasonably passable.

D. Under this section, snow or ice has not "stopped falling" if additional snow or ice falls within four hours.

E. The obligations stated above do not apply to a public sidewalk abutting a single-family residential property on one side, and an arterial street, city green way, city park, or city golf course on the other side. Nor do those obligations apply to a sidewalk from which the city regularly removes snow and ice.

F. As used in this section, "sidewalk" means a paved public way designed and constructed for pedestrian travel, and "arterial street" means an arterial street identified in the Longmont Area Comprehensive Plan or accompanying maps.

G. Violation of this section is an offense under this Code. The Public Works and Natural Resources Director or the director's designee may notify a responsible person listed above of the city's intent to correct a violation. If the violation remains 24 hours after such notification, the Public Works and Natural Resources Director or the director's designee may remove or cause the removal of snow and ice from any sidewalk affected by the offense. Upon a conviction, the municipal court shall add to the sentence of a responsible person so notified the director's reasonable certified expenses of removal. The city shall collect such added expenses in the same manner it collects other municipal court fines. Assessments against property for abatement costs under other parts of this chapter shall not apply to the city's expenses under this paragraph.

H. The council intends, by this section, to create legally enforceable duties for the benefit of persons lawfully using public sidewalks. Subject to applicable rules of law, including comparative negligence and other civil defenses, breach of these duties shall support civil recovery by injured persons lawfully using public sidewalks from each violator, jointly and severally, for damages the violation proximately causes.

(Code 1981, § 5-5-9; Code 1993, § 9.04.130; Ord. No. O-94-61, § 9; Ord. No. O-98-28, § 1)

 

Click to return to the Parks home page: http://www.ci.longmont.co.us/parks/index.htm