How quickly must snow be removed from public sidewalks?
Property owners are required to remove snow and/or ice from public sidewalks within 24 hours of a snowfall.
If the Marion Parks Department receives a "citizen request" about a sidewalk, staff members will try to contact the property owner by telephone and/or physical notice at the residence. This notification will advise property owners that they have 24 hours to remove the snow from any public walkways.
If the snow is not removed in the allotted amount of time, Parks Department employees or a hired contractor will complete the removal of the snow and the property owner(s) will be charged as follows:
In addition, a $25 administrative fee will be added to the final removal costs and billed to the property owner. Any snow removal which causes employee overtime will be billed at one and one-half times the regular hourly rate.
Please be considerate of your neighbors and fellow citizens. "Snowbirds" are encouraged to make arrangements for snow removal before they head south for the winter.
Where should cars be parked during snow storms?
Parked cars can present problems for snow removal crews and having cars plowed in with snow creates problems for citizens.
The majority of Marion's streets are 25-28 feet wide. A parked car takes about eight feet and, if there are cars parked on both sides of the street, 16 feet is used up. Snow plows are 11 feet wide. Just with the cars and the plow, roughly 27 feet is used.
Cars parked on the street during snow removal create many problems. The ideal situation would be to remove all cars from the streets during snow removal operations. The Public Services Department staff realizes this is not always practical. Snow removal could be improved a great deal by making sure cars are not parked directly across the street from each other.
Keeping all parked cars on one side of the street would also help. This way, at least one side of the street is plowed back to the curb and the other side can be worked on during the daytime hours when many residents drive their vehicles to work.
Residents are also reminded that if they live on an emergency snow route (marked by a red and white or blue and white street sign), they are required to move all vehicles from the street for the duration of any declared snow emergency. Such emergencies are announced on this web site as well as on local radio and television stations.
What are the City's snow removal procedures?
The Public Services Department uses a priority system on snow plowing and follows it until all streets have been completed. When trucks are sent out, they have designated routes to run. Snow removal crews plow in tandems. On many streets, the trucks cannot reach from the centerline to the curb in one pass. After a route has been completed, a second run is done to ensure the snow is placed all the way back to the curb.
If the street can be melted down and pushed to the curb so that water is running in the gutters, the City is ensured a good, clean street - even if the temperatures should plummet during the night.