Snow/Ice Event Plan
Town of Griffith General Snow/Ice Event Plan
The Town of Griffith recognizes the importance of maintaining safe public routes for residents, emergency vehicles, and those traveling through our community. Our snow removal plan has been developed to make the best use of resources to remove snow and ice.
The goal is to have all town roads cleared within 12 hours after a snow event has ended. Public Works approaches snow removal and ice control based on priorities. The town’s transportation network is broken into five categories; main roads, major arterial streets within subdivisions, residential streets, cul-de-sacs/dead-end streets, and alleys. Routes with higher traffic counts are addressed first. This plan has been developed to address a typical snow or ice event. The plan has flexibility built in to accommodate manpower and equipment changes. The plan is also modified when weather conditions are more severe.
During snow/ice events, the Town of Griffith Public Works Department deploys 3 salt/plow trucks to maintain the main roads and 6 salt/plow trucks into designated areas to maintain arterial and residential streets. Additionally, smaller trucks are deployed to maintain cul-de-sacs, dead end streets, and our paved alleys.
Main roads such as; Main Street, Colfax Street, Broad Street, Cline Avenue, 45th Street/Glen Park Avenue, Ridge Road, Avenue H, and Wiggs Street will be maintained by a crew of salt/plow trucks assigned to main roads only. Main roads will be plowed from center to curb and salting at intersections, curves, and hills until the snow/ice event has ended.
Major arterial streets are through streets within subdivisions that feed traffic to/from the main roads. These streets are maintained by area trucks, plowing from center to curb and salting intersections, curves, and hills. Once these streets are addressed within each route, the trucks will then clear the residential streets.
Residential streets access major arterial roads. Depending on the severity of the weather event, residential streets will be plowed in order to maintain access to arterial and main roads. When the event has ended, residential streets will be plowed from center to curb and intersections will be salted.
Cul-de-sacs and dead end streets are maintained by smaller pickup trucks. Depending on the severity of the event, plows will concentrate on enabling access to/from residences until the event has ended. At that time, these roads will be plowed center to curb and snow pushed from the center of the cul-de-sac to an acceptable parkway area.
Alleys are maintained by smaller pickup trucks. Alleys will be plowed when there is a snowfall greater than one inch.
Please refer to the following ordinance (74-159 b and c) regarding snow removal and parking:
(b) Snow Removal
No person shall cause snow to be shoveled, plowed or otherwise placed or spread upon any public place or way (street, alley or sidewalk, but not limiting the generality thereof), in such manner as to obstruct same or interfere in any way with the free and unhindered use thereof by the public.
(c) Snow Removal/Parking
No person shall park any vehicle on any street or highway within the corporate limits of the town when there is one inch or more of snow on the street surface. Street and/or highway parking shall be prohibited until the snow is removed. Any vehicle so parked in violation of this paragraph shall be removed from the street as an abandoned vehicle in accordance with section 74-51(a) without notice. The registered owner of any such vehicle shall be subject to fine as provided in sections 2-159 and 2-160.
