Typically, plowing begins when snowfall accumulates three inches or more. Main thoroughfares are given top priority and plowed before residential streets for emergency vehicle access.

It is helpful to recognize that every street cannot be cleared at the same time. Under ideal circumstances, the City would predict fairly accurately when we each street in various parts of the City would be plowed. However, it’s not that simple. As weather conditions change, we often must alter our snow-fighting strategy in the midst of snow removal operations to control drifting snow, ice or other unique problems. We cannot estimate when each street will be cleared due to ever-changing weather conditions.

Because of normal snow plowing operations, snow may be placed in your driveway unavoidably. Plows are angled to the right for plowing from the center line of the street to the curb.  For this reason, a certain amount of snow will be deposited in driveways. Snow deposited in driveways or on sidewalks by the City snow plows is the residents and owners responsibility to remove.

We apologize for the inconvenience this causes you. There are more than 10,000 driveways in the City. If we used our entire fleet of snow plows and spent just 60 seconds per driveway, it would take several days to clean driveways alone.

If your schedule permits, we suggest you wait to clear your driveway after City plows have passed through your street. If we experience significant snowfall, snow plows will likely make multiple passes on your street to achieve as much clearing as possible for on-street parking where applicable and to allow melting snow to drain in catch basins. Watch these shoveling tips to help keep your driveway clear during multiple passes by City plows.

Snow plows are emergency vehicles, but typically do not exceed the posted speed limit.  Snow plows are large, noisy pieces of equipment.  It may appear at times that the snow plow operator is driving too fast for road conditions. Many times the engine sound and noise of the plow scraping the pavement give the perception that the truck is flying down the street, when in actuality, they are only moving at 15 to 20 miles per hour.  The plows do move faster on open stretches of road to push the snow farther off of the road. Please remember: Do not follow snow plows too closely and give them plenty of room.

Snow may not be pushed into or across the street from private property, according to City Code.  Please keep this in mind when clearing your driveway. If you hire a private contractor to clear your driveway, confirm that they are aware of City regulations.

According to City Code, residents and property owners should remove snow from sidewalks within 24 hours of snowfall and use salt or another abrasive on sidewalk ice within 12 hours after ice forms.

The City opens sidewalks in some higher volume pedestrian traffic areas including downtown and areas around schools. Even if the City clears a sidewalk, residents and property owners remain responsible for making sure adjacent sidewalks are maintained and clear enough for everyone to use, including those in wheelchairs.

If your mailbox is struck by a City snow plow during operations, please contact the Public Works Department at 540.332.3892 during business hours. A Public Works staff member will review the incident with you.

If the damage was caused by the City, the box will be replaced with a standard unit. The city uses a 4”x 4” wood post and a standard design metal mailbox for replacements. The City will not repair or replace decorative mailboxes and decorative posts. Non-standard mailboxes and enclosures placed in the public right of way are at the owner’s risk and responsibility.

Remember not to landscape with rocks, bricks, timbers, shrubs and other items in the public right-of-way. Snow plows and sidewalk plows could cause damage, and the City does not repair or replace landscape materials.

Some residents have irrigation in the right-of-way. This is done at the owner’s risk and responsibility. Keep any irrigation heads away from the edges of the sidewalk. Sidewalk snow plow blades are a little wider than the sidewalk in some areas.

If a City snow plow or sidewalk plow causes lawn damage, please contact Public Works at 540.332.3892. You will be placed on a list for spring clean-up once all the snow is melted.  Sod and grass damage are restored by City crews with top soil and grass seed.

The Public Works Department works closely with the Staunton Police Department, Staunton Fire Department, and Staunton-Augusta Rescue Squad. Anytime an emergency requires snow removal assistance, one of the plowing crews is pulled from their regular route to respond as quickly as possible.

Snow plow operators take pride in clearing the streets on their routes as quickly and thoroughly as possible. Driving a snowplow is demanding, tiring work. Common sense and good safety practices dictate that each driver should take a 30-minute break every six hours. It is dangerous, both for the snowplow driver and the public, if a fatigued driver is behind the wheel of a snowplow. It is in the best interest of all concerned for the drivers to take occasional breaks.

We wish we had enough snow plows and drivers to take care of every street right away, but our resources are limited, and so we must adhere to a carefully crafted system for clearing the streets.

If we allowed our plows to be diverted each time a special request was made, our system would be destroyed, and it would take far longer to get all 275 lane miles in the City cleared.

To keep our snow removal operations as effective and efficient as possible, plows do not deviate from their assigned routes except in emergency situations. Main arterial streets have priority for snow plowing, followed by connector streets, collector streets, and then residential streets.

Under ideal circumstances, we would predict fairly accurately when we would have streets plowed across each section of the City.  However, as weather conditions change, we often must alter our snow-fighting strategy in the midst of the snow removal operations in order to control drifting snow, ice or other unique problems. We cannot give you an estimate of when your street will be cleared due to ever-changing weather conditions.

Each snow plow has an assigned route in a carefully crafted system for clearing the streets. If the plow operator spread salt on their way to their destination, they wouldn't have enough to spread along their assigned route, thereby delaying the time it should arrive at its route and disrupting a proven and effective system for clearing City streets.