Question: The Plow always leaves snow at the end of the driveway. Why can’t the Town clear this?
Answer: Snow plows are designed to push snow to the side. It is inevitable for snow to be deposited at the end of driveways and on sidewalks during plowing. To minimize the impact, we recommend piling the snow to the left side of your driveway when facing your house. However, duirng snow removal operations this is an inevitable byproduct of plowing which can be exacerbated by higher snowfall amounts and wet heavy snow and plow drivers cannot control the amount of snow that leaves the end of the plow. All residents in Chili are responsible for the removal of driveway windrows as the Town does not provide this service. A private contractor may be a suitable option for those looking for this level of service.
Question: Why doesn’t the Town salt all the roads all the time?
Answer: Salt is applied to Primary routes and on Secondary routes on a limited basis. The level of service on Primary routes is to keep them as bare as possible. These are roads that include bus routes, roads with higher traffic volumes, higher speeds or steep grades.
Question: Who clears the snow on the Route 490?
Answer: The New York State Department of Transportation is responsible for snow and ice operations on Route 490
Question: Why did I see a truck driving in snow with its blade up?
Answer: There are many reasons a truck may have been driving with its blade up. When driving to or from their route locations or maintenance facility they need to travel with their blade up or they would have to drive slower and wear out the plow blade when not on routes. Our trucks may also be only salting when you see them with their plow up.
Question: Why do some streets have less snow and ice when plowing is done?
Answer: There are a number of factors which impact how clear a street will be including; when during the operation it is plowed, the amount of traffic on the road before and after plowing, the pavement temperatures and type of pavement surface. While we try to provide consistent service some residential streets will be clearer than others. We conduct regular patrols to ensure all streets are safe and passable and arterial streets are cleared to bare pavement.
Question: How long does it take to plow the Town?
Answer: Our goal is to have all main and residential streets safe and passable 18-24 hours after any major snow events. For smaller events it generally takes 4-5 hour to complete a circuit of the Town. This goal is impacted by the type and amount of snow and timing of the storm. Once streets are safe and passable we will continue to address general cleanup, crosswalks, bus stops, and intersections.