Wondering when your street will be plowed?

3-bottom, Citizen Journalism, Our Cities, ,

By Victoria Mullen
WKTV

 

It’s the $64,000 question after a huge snow dump: When will my street get plowed? Watch the video above to learn about the City of Wyoming’s snow removal policy. In a nutshell, there are priorities: first, the busiest streets get plowed; next, the collector streets; and last of all, the quiet cul-de-sacs. More info is available here. The goal of the City of Wyoming’s snowplowing operation is to have all streets plowed within 24 hours after the end of a storm.

As with the City of Wyoming, the City of Kentwood’s Department of Public Works prioritizes plowing and salting from highest volume streets to lowest volume streets. Nothing personal, but it goes like this:

  1. Major Streets in the City of Kentwood with the most traffic — such as  44th, 52nd, Kalamazoo and Eastern — get plowed and salted first during a snow “event”.
  2. Collector Streets — next in line are the “main” streets throughout many of the subdivisions where you live. The streets you use to enter or exit an area adjacent to the major streets are plowed and salted after the major streets have been cleared and are as safe as possible to travel on. Some examples of collector streets are: Baileys Grove Dr., Stauffer Ave and Gentian Ave.
  3. Local Streets are the streets within the subdivisions themselves. These are plowed after the collectors are cleared and safe for travel. Salt is typically not spread on the local streets.
  4. Cul-De-Sacs/stub streets are the last to get attention. Smaller pick-up trucks direct the snow to areas in the cul-de-sac that are suitable for snow storage. It’s important that items are removed from the cul-de-sacs — soccer goals, portable basketball hoops and any other miscellaneous items.

Sometimes things don’t go as planned — maybe a busy street has been plowed and the City has moved onto another when Mother Nature disrupts the routine. When this happens — say, the major roads deteriorate — attention is shifted back to them and the cycle starts over.

Both cities make every effort to have all the roads cleared within 24 hours after the snow event has ended. During most snow events crews are working around the clock with trucks on the road 24 hours a day, sometimes for several days in a row.

Don’t worry, they’ll get to you!

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