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1. When will the town plow my street?

The Town’s Snow & Ice Control Plan has three priorities, explaining where the Town starts snow plowing first. The Plan is to return road surfaces to safe winter driving conditions as soon as feasible within the limitations of this plan, our limited resources and weather conditions. Staff will evaluate the weather conditions during each snowstorm and will dispatch snow removal crews to impacted areas as needed. 

 All local through streets and paved alleys are designated snow routes where parking is prohibited once roadway accumulations reach a three  inches or greater.  Local through streets function to provide vehicular access to adjacent properties.  They are designed for the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists. All cul-de-sacs and dead-end streets will be evaluated on a as needed basis, by the Public Services Director or the Director’s official designed Town Representative. It must be recognized that, although this plan sets general guidelines to be followed, each snowstorm has its own characteristics. The time required to clear snow and ice from streets depends on a variety of conditions often unique to each storm event. This plan must remain flexible and take into consideration these variables. The strategies used to plow streets depend on several factors including:

• Snow storm intensity and accumulation
• Anticipated snow storm duration 
• Type of snow, ranging from light/dry to heavy/wet
• Ambient air and pavement surface temperatures before and expected after snowfall
• Wind speeds (high winds) and directions that cause drifting conditions
• Traffic conditions, weekday versus weekend
• Time of day
• Time of season – fall, winter or spring
• Availability of equipment and staff.

2. What snow and ice removal items are residents responsible for?

Residents are required by ordinance to clear sidewalks, including those crossing alleys and driveways, within 24 hours after the end of a storm. Please pile the snow in your yard, not in the street. If your sidewalk is icy, apply de-icer to melt the ice. If you wish to report a hazardous sidewalk, please call the Police Department's Code Enforcement team at 970-674-6400. Read more in the link below.

Download the Snow & Ice Control Plan

3. When will the town start snow and ice control operations?

The town's on-call snow and ice removal crew, in conjunction with weather reports and with help from Police Department observations, begins snow and ice control operations on a case-by-case basis. Other criteria considered include temperature, snow accumulation, drifting, icy conditions and the time of the snowfall.

4. Why do the plows cover over the areas I just shoveled, and am I responsible for those areas?

Snow plow drivers will make every effort to avoid plowing snow onto sidewalks and driveway entrances. However, in the process of removing snow from the roadways, there may be times that this cannot be avoided and sidewalks or driveway entrances may become covered. Sidewalks must be cleared within 24 hours from the end of the snow storm per Sec.11-7-10 of the Municipal Code.

5. Who is responsible for clearing and maintaining sidewalks during a snow event?

Windsor property owners and/or occupants are responsible for keeping all sidewalks free of snow and ice. Owners and/or occupants have 24 hours from the time the storm stops to clear the areas they are responsible for.

6. My neighbors never clear their sidewalks. What can I do?

Residents are required by the Town Code to have their sidewalks cleared within 24 hours of the end of the snow storm per Sec.11-7-10 of the Municipal Code. If you are concerned about unclear sidewalks, you can contact Code Enforcement at the Police Department at (970)674-6400.

7. What can you do about ice build-up along curbs, gutters and sidewalks?

Some streets in the town do not receive much direct sunlight, prohibiting a natural thaw of snow and ice. Consequently, ice build up will block storm drains and create hazardous conditions if it forms over the sidewalk. It is very difficult to remove this ice build up without causing damage to concrete and asphalt. This ice will not melt until the temperature is above freezing for an extended period of time. If the ice is on a sidewalk adjacent to private property, then it is the property owner’s responsibility to remove it.

8. Who is responsible for clearing and maintaining trails during a snow event?

Windsor Parks and Forestry will remove snow from town-maintained trails as resources become available. They can be reached by calling 970-674-2434.

9. Why are only portions of the street plowed on residential streets?

When conditions warrant, residential streets may only be plowed enough to give residents access to the highest priority streets. Plowing from curb to curb is not always practical because it would require more time and moving of many vehicles that park on the streets. Clearing the snow from driveway entrances is the responsibility of the property owner.

10. I saw a Town snow plow driving around during the storm with its blade up. Why wasn’t it plowing?

It is the goal of the Town to plow streets systematically and efficiently.  When snow plows are moving from one location to another, or returning to refuel or have more de-icing material loaded onto the truck, they travel with the plow blades up.

11. How many miles of streets are plowed in the Town of Windsor?

There are over 263 center lane miles of roads in Windsor. However, that number can triple or quadruple when  factoring in lanes. For example, Main Street from 7th Street to 15th Street is approximately one mile; however, it is four lane miles due to the four lanes that exist on Main Street, not including turn lanes. If you multiply 263 center lane miles by two to account for a pass going both directions, that comes to a minimum of 526 miles of Street Plowing in the Town.

12. How many pieces of equipment are used in the snow plowing effort?

The town has seven  snow plow dump trucks each equipped with sanders; two  one-ton pickup; eight  ¾ pickups, two four-wheel drive tractors, one with snow blower; one  motor grader; one front-end loader; and two backhoes.

13. What does the town put on the streets to melt ice and snow?

The Town uses Ice Buster is a granular rock salt product pre-wetted with Apex Meltdown to reduce corrosion while increasing de-icing performance on all the Town’s roadways. Ice Buster is a complex chloride containing primarily Sodium Chloride (NaCI), Magnesium Chloride (MgCI-2), and Calcium Chloride (CaCI-2). Ice Buster works down to 15 degrees; once below that temperature it becomes difficult to melt snow and ice. Ice Buster accelerates ice melt by absorbing 50% more of the sun’s radiant energy than white de-icing products. This salt comes from a salt mine in Kansas and is grey in color. The color grey signals to motorists that roads have been treated. This product requires fewer applications resulting in reduced amounts of chloride introduced into the environment. Studies indicate that applying de-icing materials reduces accidents by 88% and pays for itself in a half hour in terms of avoiding vehicle crashes. The Town does not use sand. Ice Buster delivers enhanced traction and eliminating the need for sand. By doing this, reduces sediment along roadways, in storm drainages, and in rivers. Sand can have detrimental effects to air quality and sweeping cost for the cleanup.

Apex Meltdown is a corrosion inhibitor, derived from organic polymers and blended with a 30 percent Magnesium Chloride solution. Apex Meltdown (Magnesium Chloride solution) works down to -10 F degrees; The Town uses Prewetting Salt Operations, which is a process of coating, or treating, Ice Buster (granular rock salt) with a liquid Apex Meltdown (Magnesium Chloride solution) as it comes out of the V-box spreader. Generally done in the range of 5 to 10 gallons of liquid per ton of material. Pre-wetted Ice Buster (granular rock salt) will stick to the pavement and reduces bounce and scatter, while increasing the de-icing performance at which the salt begins the melting process. The Town is NOT using liquid anti-icing operations.  Crews are trained on sensible salting techniques, and all snow plow trucks are calibrated to spread only the amount of de-icing salt required to de-ice the roadways.

14. Why doesn't the town plow to the center of the street?

Plowing snow to the center of the street can be very hazardous to motorists; traffic flow is restricted by eliminating a portion of a lane, the freeze/thaw cycle deteriorates the pavement and icy driving conditions are created when the melting snow freezes on the pavement every night. This practice can also create sight obstructions for low vehicles and cause problems for residents entering and exiting roadways.

15. Who do I call to report problems with snow removal?

Calls regarding snow and ice removal operations should be directed to Public Services at 970-674-5400, Monday-Friday, 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. For after-hours Public Works emergencies call 970-674-5411. If you encounter an emergency situation, call 911.