Lockport Offers Winter Weather Tips

LOCKPORT, IL – Although we've had a mild winter so far, there is a chance to see some snow this weekend, and the city of Lockport wanted to offer some winter weather tips to residents.

The city said:

• Use caution during every snow storm this season. If possible, stay home when it is snowing or when we are experiencing a winter weather watch or warning.
• Know when we are expecting severe weather. Lockport sends weather alerts through Nixle, delivered directly via text and email to your phone. To sign up, visit nixle.com; enter your zip code, then select “sign up” at the top of the page and follow the subsequent instructions.

There are some parking rules in Lockport when a winter weather event occurs.

• Residents should not park on the street during a winter snow event. Parked cars are an obstacle to snow plows, and plowing around parked cars leaves large areas of snow and ice on the roadway.
• Park vehicles in your driveway to help facilitate safe removal of snow on yourstreet. Due to the number of streets to be cleared across Lockport, crews will not return to streets where cars were previously parked.
• Once there is 2 inches of accumulation, the Snow Parking Ban goes into effect, which states: “No person shall park any vehicle upon the public streets at any time after snow begins to fall and for a period of eight hours after snow stops falling on the streets and public parking lots. If the snow on the street exceeds two inches in depth, the parking prohibition shall continue until snow removal operations are complete.”

After a snow event, many residents will begin to shovel driveways and sidewalks. The city offers advice on this.

• Property owners are responsible for snow removal on public sidewalks adjacent to their homes. Sidewalks should be cleared at least one shovel’s width within 24 hours after snow fall. This allows easier access for pedestrians, particularly for children to walk to school or the bus stop.
• When possible, consider lending a hand to the elderly or disabled neighbors who cannot clear their own sidewalks, porches, and steps. For many residents, medical conditions make it difficult to shovel snow without posing significant health risks.
• Shovel snow from driveways into the parkway and not into the street. This will help to avoid creating dangerously slippery conditions for motorists and allow for more effective snow removal by City plows. Shoveling snow into the street is in violation of a city ordinance.
• When plowing is required, snow “berms” are often created across driveways by plows. City plow operators have limited control over the windrow of snow coming off the edge of the blade, and crews try to keep this problem to a minimum.
• One way you can help minimize plow trucks pushing snow back onto your driveway where you previously shoveled is to face the street when removing snow and shovel snow into the parkway instead of toward or near the street.
• Shovel around fire hydrants for fire department personnel to access in case of emergency, and around meters to aid utility meter readers.
• Uncover your mailbox and clear a path for letter carriers in vehicles.
• Ensure that your mailbox is properly placed out of the way of plows’ snow removal efforts.

When removing snow from the streets, the city said plows follow a priority plowing system. Snow removal is prioritized according to the following order: main streets linking arterials, with schools, and within subdivisions; minor residential and side streets, cul-de-sacs with steep inclines or sharp curves; and dead end streets, and all other cul-de-sacs and alleys.

Image via Shutterstock.