State of Washington Road and Pass Info

Snow and Ice Control

Living in Kennewick, we all know how unpredictable our weather can be. We have experienced winters (normally months of December, January and February) with no snow accumulation to winters with over fifty-inches of measurable snow.

With a population of over 60,000 and over 670 lane miles of streets, the City continues to strive to provide an acceptable level of snow and ice control.

Normal Snow and Ice Conditions

Our fleet of snow fighting equipment is readied by October 31st each year.  Three deicer vehicles, seven dump trucks, each with a sander and snow plow, one grader and one loader with wing p low, combined with a crew of trained equipment operators, will keep major streets passable.  Plows remove snow from the travel lane when snow depth and estimated accumulation indicate the need to plow.

The City's present snow control policy establishes the degree of snow control to be used on the streets with the following priority:

First Priority: All major arterial streets and arterial intersections considered to be the minimum network which must be kept open to provide a transportation system connecting hospitals, fire stations, police stations and emergency medical services.

Second Priority: Minor arterial streets and intersections and those streets serving public schools.

Third Priority: Collector streets and those additional streets serving public transportation and selected hot spots such as steep hills and higher volume intersections.

Emergency Snow Conditions

When winter weather conditions are servere, the City Manager may declare a snow emergency.  Factors such as wind, temperature, current and projected snow accumulations influence this decision.  Newspapers and local radio and TV stations are immediately informed in an effort to alert the public.

All parked, stalled or abandoned vehicles may be towed from designated, emergency snow routes at the owner's expense.  Vehicles parked along streets normall posted "No Parking" may be towed, at the owner's expense, without a declared snow emergency.

Equipment operators may work 12 hours or more in a shift and appreciate courteous and friendly drivers and pedestrians.  Please help them help you.

Citizen Responsibilities

Snow can be beautiful, but it also can create hazards. When residents fail to clear their sidewalks, the result can be a treacherous ice patch. We need your help in protecting pedestrians from possible injury.

Residents are responsible to maintain their sidewalks and driveways adjacent to their property.   Please pile the snow on your yard, not in the street.   If your sidewalk is icy, you may correct the hazard by applying a heavy coat of sand.   A helpful hint for residents on snow routes, clear your sidewalks after the snowplows have finished plowing your street. 

COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT SNOW CONTROL

Can't the City remove the snow they put in my driveway and sidewalk?

When you consider the large number of driveways and amount of sidewalks in the City, it is too costly and time consuming to use additional people and equipment to perform this service.   Our primary duty is to open and keep open the main roadway system.

Why not plow to the center?

Piling snow to the center of a street can create a hazardous situation. Traffic flow is restricted by eliminating a portion of a lane. The freeze-thaw cycle creates problems when the melting snow freezes on the road surface every evening. This practice can also create sight obstructions for low vehicles and cause problems for residents entering and exiting their driveways.

Can I park my car on the street?

Sure, but to help our operators perform their plowing duties in a safe and efficient manner, we ask that residents park elsewhere when snow begins to accumulate.   Vehicles will only be towed when a snow emergency is declared on those designated streets where parking is normally allowed.

Having to maneuver a snowplow in and out between parked vehicles is not only dangerous, but also nerve-wracking for our drivers.   We cannot do an efficient job with parked vehicles on the street. Also, we could plow your car in with a snow bank.

You towed my car!  Where is it?

When the City has your vehicle towed, you can call the Police Department at 585-4208 to find out who has your vehicle.

Why are residential streets seldom plowed?

With over 670 lane miles of streets to maintain, limited equipment and staff, it is usually not possible to plow all of the streets.  When you consider that most of the network of Priority 1 streets are four lanes, plus turn lanes, you can see why our equipment is busy 24-hours a day, even after the snow has stopped falling.  We make every effort to get to lower priority streets when conditions allow.

Why do we have problems with snow removal that other cities don't?

Kennewick does not experience accumulated snow on the ground very often.  Often snow comes & is gone within a day.  Sometimes several years will pass with no accumulated snow.  The City could acquire enough equipment & staff to reduce most impacts to our community & have all streets plowed within 24-hours, when we do have a real snow event as we did in January 2004.  This would be very costly for the taxpayers to support compared to the limited snow events we have.  Some cities, such as Vancouver & Seattle have even less equipment (percentage wise) than Kennewick, while other cities, such as Chicago, have a great deal more, as snow is a real issue there for several months every year.  The City maintains enough equipment & staff levels to keep the major arterials open during an extreme snow event as established as First Priority.

If you have any questions, please call us at 585-4419.