Snow Removal

City of Loveland
snow removal maps

Downtown Town  •  Northwest

North Central   •   East   •   South  •  Downtown Alleys

When show is forecast, the City's snow fighters mount their plows and spreaders to their dump trucks. Police Dispatch can summon snow removal crews any time of the day or night. Thanks to thorough training and well-established route assignments, snow fighters are usually hitting the streets within 45 minutes of being called out.

Snow melting chemicals are spread at busy intersections, hills, bridges, curves and other trouble spots, as needed. When snow depths reach about two inches or more, the trucks will begin plowing operations.

Snow is removed first from busy arterials curb to curb, then from driving lanes of collector streets and from school bus routes. The City's Snow and Ice Control Plan formally establishes the priorities as follows:

Priority One: Four lane arterials which carry the most traffic, plus important two lane thoroughfares. Examples include Garfield Avenue, Eisenhower Blvd., 1st Street, and Wilson Avenue.

Priority Two: Heavily-used two lane collector streets, school bus routes and streets which serve commercial/industrial zones.

Priority Three: All remaining streets, including residential areas.

Priority One, two and three snow routes will be routinely maintained except under extreme weather conditions. As a winter storm worsens, it may prove necessary to temporarily drop priority three routes, or even priority two routes in order to keep the higher priority streets open and well treated with de-icers.

Priority three routes (residential streets) are not routinely plowed and de-iced during the winter months because their lower traffic volumes and traffic speeds do not typically warrant the expense.

However, when snow accumulations are such that residents will have difficulty driving to the nearest designated plow route, City crews or private contractors will be deployed to clear a path down the center third of each street. Snow depths, daytime temperatures and the time of year will be factored into the decision to plow or not plow residential streets.

Residents will always be responsible for opening up their own driveways.

City residents are required by ordinance to clear snow from their sidewalks within 24 hours of a snowfall's end. When residents fail to do this, school children and other pedestrians are forced to walk on either snow-packed and icy sidewalks, or out in the street itself. Either scenario can lead to serious injury.

To report an unshoveled sidewalk, please call the Police Department at 667-2151. After providing ample notice to the offending residence, the City will levy both a removal fee and a fine if it must clear such a walk.

When shoveling your walk, please pile the snow on your lawn, not in the street. Piling or blowing snow into a public right-of-way is disallowed by Municipal Code because it can present a potential traffic hazard, and can also block the flow of drainage.

If your sidewalk is still icy after being shoveled, apply a de-icing agent available for purchase at most grocery, discount and hardware stores.

Remember--if City snowplows bury adjacent sidewalks during their street snow removal efforts, a contractor hired by the City will remove this snow within 24 hours, at no expense to the affected residence.

For more information on the City's Downtown Snow Removal Policy call 962-2529 to have a brochure mailed to you or view the brochure here.