Snow Removal

If snow removal becomes necessary, City crews will 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 everyone to travel everywhere within the City of Richmond.

Streets are cleared in the following order: 

Bridges, major thoroughfares, and major arterial streets will be cleaned to bare pavement as quickly as possible during and immediately after snowfall. Secondary arterial streets will be cleared to bare pavement within 24 hours of the snow’s cessation. These streets include some GRTC bus routes.

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.

"What should I do 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.
• Clear the snow on sidewalks adjacent to your property within 6 hours of snow stopping or by 11 a.m. the next day if snow continues to fall through the night. City code holds property owners and occupants responsible for doing so.

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, and Mechanicsville Turnpike. If the Chief Administrative Officer 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. Richmond residents can call the snow information hotline at 646-5323 to receive up-to-date information about refuse collection schedules.