Winter Storm
Snow Truck Plow
Removing snow from city streets is a service provided by
Street Maintenance.
When snow removal becomes necessary, city crews work around the clock to improve travel conditions on major transportation
routes, allowing emergency services, education, and commerce to continue with minimal interruption. Residents should
understand that snow removal is a public safety initiative. The program is not designed to provide convenient road
conditions for extensive travel throughout the city.
Street Clearing Order
Bridges, major thoroughfares, and major arterial streets are given 1st and 2nd priority. Secondary arterial streets will be cleared to
bare pavement within 24 hours after they snow has stopped falling, DEPENDENT UPON ACCUMULATION AND TEMPERATURE. Private property
owners should not move snow from their driveways or parking lots into city streets. Doing so hampers the city's ability to clear
roadways and could become a public safety hazard.
Click here for the list of
Priority 1 and Priority 2
streets.
Staying Safe During a Major Snow Storm
During major snowstorms, the city of Richmond encourages residents to stay home if at all possible. If residents
must travel, they should make every effort to use major thoroughfares that have been plowed and/or treated with sand
and salt.
Keep parked cars off of main streets to speed up removal.
Per City Code,
Sec. 90-42, you must clear the snow on sidewalks adjacent to
your property within 6 hours of snow stopping or by 11:00 a.m. the next day if
snow continues to fall through the night. City code holds property owners and
occupants responsible for doing so. If you see sidewalks that are not cleared
within the allotted timeframe, please contact Customer Care at 3-1-1 and enter
a service request for Code Enforcement/DPW so the matter can be addressed.
Emergency Snow Routes
The city has designated snow emergency routes to improve travel and snow removal along portions of certain major
thoroughfares. The snow emergency routes include portions of
- Broad Street
- 7th Street
- 8th Street
- Franklin Street
- Main Street
- Cary Street,
- Marshall Street
- Semmes Avenue
- Mechanicsville Turnpike
If the city leadership declares a snow emergency, parking will be illegal during times indicated on the new signs.
The city will tow illegally parked vehicles.
Parking
Residents should also make every effort to move or park their vehicles on side streets, leaving at least one travel lane open for
traffic. This measure is necessary to prevent accidents and to keep primary and secondary streets clear for ambulance, police,
and fire vehicles and snow plows. The city of Richmond will tow cars that are double-parked or abandoned in travel lanes on
all streets. Owners will then have to pay to retrieve their cars from the city tow lot, which is located at Commerce and
Hull streets.
Refuse Collection
The Department of Public Works will attempt to collect all refuse on the scheduled collection days. However, snow
may cause delays in some areas.
