CITY OF TOPEKA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS STREET MAINTENANCE SECTION ROADWAY DEICING AND SNOW REMOVAL PLAN Reviewed by Jaci Vogel

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1 CITY OF TOPEKA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS STREET MAINTENANCE SECTION ROADWAY DEICING AND SNOW REMOVAL PLAN Reviewed by Jaci Vogel INTRODUCTION The City of Topeka strives to provide effective snow and ice removal services to the City streets allowing motorists to safely travel within the City when winter weather conditions comprose the driving surface. It is also expected that motorists exercise appropriate precautionary driving skills and adjust their driving to the level necessitated by the weather conditions. We also ask that residents remain patient and lit their driving to necessary trips, to help us complete deicing and plowing activities as quickly and safely as possible. Every winter weather event is unique and the actions taken for each storm are directly related to the amount and type of the precipitation, the ground and air temperature at the time it falls, and the pending forecast. All of these variables create their own unique challenges but each storm is approached by a set of comprehensive guidelines that have been developed over many years. These guidelines are attached to this document as Tables 1 through 6. City of Topeka s management team will utilize these tables to decide upon and execute all work activities, while using this written plan, the Cityworks information system, and other written operational processes and procedures to track progress, account for all time and materials, and manage outside contractors required to deal with every winter weather event. In order to adequately respond to winter roadway issues in a timely manner, our street deicing and plowing programs are executed by a comprehensive written manual that has been developed over many years, that is used to dispatch and track each vehicle or piece of equipment as it traverses the City. This manual utilizes lists and maps to dispatch and track each and every route treated or plowed, by primary, secondary, and residential street routing classifications. The routes are printed and supplied to the driver/operator with a map of the areas on the respective log sheets, and the driver/operator drives each route listed, to execute specific actions for the specific weather event, as shown on the tables. Driver/ Operators utilize the city s radio network or cellular devices to periodically communicate status, progress, and with management staff assigned to dispatch and communication roles. To meet public safety requirements, public need, and management timeline goals, The Street Maintenance Section utilizes staff and equipment from multiple Public Works Department agencies to deice and plow the city streets. When plowing is necessary in residential areas, city staff and equipment is utilized along with private contractors. Street Maintenance retains primary responsibility for plan decisions and execution, communicating requests for assistance to the other support agencies and other pertinent city staff, and assigning management team members to dispatch, track progress, account for time, materials, and equipment used utilized to manage the event. Deicing material placed on the roadway is also recorded by the type and pounds per lane le. Management staff uses the radio dispatch method, and GPS based automated vehicle tracking systems to account for and document all work activities. The remainder of this document identifies and explains other activities related to our work with varying Winter weather events to allow a general reference to anyone interested. We hope and trust it provides a better understanding for those interested. 1

2 FUNCTIONAL AND FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY The Public Works Department and Street Maintenance Section have assigned primary responsibility for development and implementation for roadway deicing and snow removal plans to the Street Maintenance Division; as a core responsibility. This responsibility includes all costs related to the involved work activities of all city staff and outside contractors utilized to plow or deice the City streets. Seeing that an average winter can expend more than $1,000, for materials, contractors, and wages for all seasonal work, and the Street Maintenance Division being solely funded by annual Motor Fuel Tax revenues that currently generate a little more than $5,000,000.00, all work must be closely managed to nize budgetary impact. The above listed yearly expenses do not include the capital equipment costs of the specialty equipment needed for the work. Material spreaders, varying sizes of plows, snow blowers, and other types of equipment purchased and used only to deice and plow city streets are also funded from the fuel tax revenues we receive. With the current replacement value of all needed mobile assets exceeding $5,000,000.00, roadway deicing and plowing activities are an extremely expensive yet necessary work activity. We nize the capital equipment expense by managing equipment ownership costs by owning the equipment necessary to manage an average precipitation year, and address the atypically harsh years by utilizing more outside contractors. We believe this is the most efficient means of planning and managing our winter weather activities within our lited and dinishing revenue stream. The contents of this plan and its attachments are also developed to match our levels of service to available funding. With responsibility for the core functions of sweeping, patching, crack sealing, deicing and plowing the more than 1500 lane les of streets, and maintenance of the 161 les of alleys in the city within the revenue generated by the motor fuel tax, advance planning and efficient operations are becong more and more critical, each and every year. STORM PREPARATION, PLANNING, AND MONITORING The Street Maintenance Section begins annual winter weather preparation around the first of August when equipment is inspected, serviced, repaired, and approved for service by the city mechanical staff. Our organization also utilizes the local weather forecasters, weather radar, and contracts annually with a Meteorologist to continually monitor winter weather from November 1 to April 1 of each year. Anytime inclement weather is anticipated, management team members begin monitoring and communication with the contracted meteorology service and snow contractors, and also notify city staff of the potential for response. Once the probability of an event increases, weather monitoring escalates to around the clock; with the contracted weather people being responsible for calling and communicating any weather changes to management staff twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. When there is potential for response, Street Maintenance staff loads, mounts and stages the appropriate equipment that the event will require, in advance of the system arrival. We also initiate written processes and procedures to manage the event. Even though we work to avoid unnecessary delays activating equipment, we utilize quick attach plows and only install snow plows when we believe they will become 2

3 necessary. We take this approach to reduce vehicle weight for fuel conservation reasons, allow for improved maneuverability, and to avoid unnecessary wear and tear on the vehicles steering and suspension systems. Each truck with mounted plows are also equipped with a quick attach mount to allow any plow to be mounted within a matter of nutes. Most years, we meet the goal of having all equipment approved for service and ready for activation by October 31. Other annual season prep activities are listed below. Annual Snow Meeting and Operator Training Prior to the winter weather season, or around the first of November, Street Maintenance Section will conduct a meeting with various city management staff to communicate season plans and provide an annual snow response contact list. At this meeting, manpower needs from each agency other than Street Maintenance will be communicated and established, to allow the participating city agencies to establish their annual snow work plan, complete their normal work responsibilities, and ensure they remain compliant with organizational policies and bargaining unit agreement terms. This meeting will also cover any changes to this plan, and the snow route logs used for all events. Once this meeting is completed and staff expectations are communicated, each participating agency will be prepared to supply the support for any particular event, whenever Street Maintenance staff makes request for assistance. Staff attending this meeting will also be advised of the date and time that yearly operator training sessions will be held and be supplied a current contact list. Annual Operator training will consist of all staff eligible for operating plow and material spreader trucks completing a timed and scored course that is set up by Street Maintenance staff. The course will be set up to simulate the actual operation of a truck during an event. All employees that will be used as part of the roadway deicing and plowing work will be required to maneuver the truck through the course, with management and supervisory staff ting and keeping track of how long and how well the individual completes the course. The intent of the training is to measure how well our operators can operate and maneuver the equipment through the course and rank skill level, but is not intended as a pass/fail type of test. At the conclusion of all operators completing the course, the results will be kept on file with the Safety and Training Manager and posted at the Street Maintenance Division. City Equipment Operators assigned to motor graders, wheel loaders, and snow blowers will be established by the operator skills and position seniority, in accordance with the appropriate bargaining unit agreement. Management works to make sure our most experienced and qualified staff operates these assets due to the traffic and geographic issues you encounter operating large pieces of equipment on city streets. These staff members are distributed across the 24 hour shifts to keep experience and skills on both shifts. 3

4 Annual Snow Hauler and Plowing Solicitation To adequately complete snow hauling and plowing activities in a timely manner, private contractor assistance is required. To accomplish this, in the fall of each year Street Maintenance staff will produce the requirements for a yearly bid proposal for contractor assistance. This bid will include proposals from local contractors for the snow hauling required to elinate snow from the core business districts and to supplement plowing activities. This bid will accept proposals from all interested contractors meeting the insurability requirements and capable of supplying the needed equipment and manpower to supplement the operation. The solicitation will accept bids from contractors willing to supply tandem axel or end dumps to be used to haul snow from the core business districts to a location managed by Street Maintenance, heavy plowing vehicles to assist with the clearing of the arterial and collector roadways, and medium duty plow vehicles to execute plowing activities in the residential areas. Once the requirements for the bid are finalized, Street Maintenance will supply the requirements to the Contracts and Procurement Division (C&P) for solicitation. When C&P has received all bids, they will be supplied to the Street Maintenance Quality Assurance (QA) Manager to fully evaluate and award the bid. Once the bid is awarded the QA Manager will schedule a meeting with management from the private contractors to discuss expectations for the season and to answer any questions they ght have. Once the bid is awarded and the meeting has been held, the contractors will be ready to activate on short notice and be capable of being on-site for dispatch within three (3) hours of the call from the QA Manager. Equipment and Material Resources There are various types and classifications of equipment necessary to be able manage the extreme variance of Winter weather events that we see here in North East Kansas. To be able to approach heavy snowfall or freezing rain that causes significant ice accumulations, we require a versatile arsenal of equipment to clear our roads in the Winter. The City equipment used for these activities is listed within Appendix I attached to this document, but generally we utilize trucks with plows, heavy equipment, material spreaders, snow blowers, and some light medium equipment to spread material, plow, and pick up snow from certain areas. All equipment may not be used for each and every event, but it is prepared and made ready in the event that a major event develops. Snow Equipment service and preparation work is completed by the City Fleet Services Division and begins every year around August 1. Other materials are also essential to the deicing and plowing processes. Due to the large quantities of material needed to deal with a significant event, stock piles of deicing products, plow cutting edges, attaching hardware and other scellaneous small parts must be on hand before the start of each season. Street Maintenance works closely with Contracts and Procurement and Fleet Services staff to ensure adequate supplies are on hand before the first snow flake or drop of frozen rain falls. The time required to have the large quantities of bulk deicing material also requires that we have significant reserve stockpiles of this material on hand. To properly stage and prepare for Winter, Street Maintenance ensures that Fleet Services has adequate plow cutting edges on hand that pert each plow to have the edges replaced twice ( approx.40), 500 plow edge bolts with nuts, and other vehicle service and maintenance items that would be needed during an event. Street Maintenance ensures that we have at least 6,000 tons of bulk deicing material in our 4

5 storage facilities, and 3,000 gallons of liquid pretreatment product on hand by d-november of each year, and purchasing arrangements are in place to ensure that stockpiles can be ordered, delivered, and replenished as needed. A major event can consume as much as 2500 tons of bulk deicing material, 1000 gallons of liquid deicer, and 25 cutting edges. We believe the above listed quantities are more than adequate to either get us through the entire season, or adequate time to restock before the next event, but due to delivery delays, our bulk deicing product must be closely monitored. Even though this product is stockpiled in quantities that allow us to manage multiple storms, extended order delivery periods from delays at the salt nes and the logistics of having it delivered by the 25 ton end dump load from Hutchinson or Lyons Ks., require us to order after each and every major event to ensure we always have adequate product. A typical material order of 2500 tons requires 100 end dump truck loads to be transported and delivered, which can take as long as two weeks of hauling every day, to receive all 100 loads. Street Maintenance has storage capabilities of 8,000 ton of dry bulk deicer and 9,000 gallons of liquid deicer to help manage these products. APPROACH BY STREET CLASSIFICATIONS Major Streets Major streets include all arterial and collector streets that provide access to schools, business districts, major facilities, bus routes, and all emergency snow routes. On major streets, the goal is to clear these streets of ice and snow from curb to curb as soon as possible. Work on these streets will begin at the start of a storm and continue until the streets are fully treated and/or plowed and can be safely traveled. Major streets are treated and/or plowed in accordance with priorities established by primary and secondary maps and run sheets that have been established to track work progress. When executing the plan, primary routes are run ahead of secondary routes. Residential routes will be executed once we have dispatched crews to begin work along the primary and secondary routes, and conditions will allow the residential vehicles access to the needed areas, and the larger equipment is out of the area. The time necessary to treat and/or plow all city roadways varies with the composition of the precipitation, the duration and intensity of the storm, and the final accumulation of snow, sleet, or ice; but plowing all main streets after a significant snow fall can take up to 72 hours, with final residential work taking even longer. Prior to actual arrival of a winter event, Street Maintenance may initially pre-treat roadways with a biodegradable deicing solution, salt, or a salt/sand xture as consistent with procedures identified in the tables attached to this document. Pre-treatment will not be applied if the weather forecast calls for significant rain ahead of the winter weather, because the material spread would be washed off and into the city storm drains. 5

6 Residential Streets Residential streets are local streets providing access to homes and some businesses. These are not streets with high traffic volumes but still important to the local transportation plan. Our snow removal plan is geared to provide access to both residential and business areas, so residential streets are also treated with deicing materials whenever conditions warrant and all primary and secondary routes have been completed. Due to the exponential costs and additionally required manpower, plowing in residential areas is only executed after a snow event greater than 6 inches. Should the decision be made to plow residential areas, the work will be started as soon as adequate plowing has occurred along the arterial and collector routes to pert the smaller plow vehicles to access the needed areas. Plowing along residential streets will be done to the best of our ability parked cars and other unforeseen objects may prohibit our operators from fitting a plow truck down a roadway. Outlying Rural Roads Outlying roads that run along or just adjacent to the city lits that are the responsibility of the city are plowed and treated by city staff or other governmental agencies as part of an agreement between them and the City Street Maintenance Section. The additional costs assumed by an outside government agency are addressed through agreements worked out between Transportation Operations staff and the outside agency as part of an agreement. The cost assumed by outside agencies for treating or plowing roads that are the responsibility of the city can be traded out for other work between the agencies or directly expensed to Street Maintenance Section under the terms established by the agreement. Costs billed back to the city will be billed by the actual treatment or plowing costs per lane le as calculated between the two agencies. Until improved communication systems that pert radio communication between all governmental agencies can be established, progress treating or plowing city roadways by outside agencies will be communicated to Street Maintenance dispatch by phone for documentation within the Cityworks information system. Interstate and Highway System The Kansas Department of Transportation removes the snow and ice from the interstate and state highway system, but certain surface roads within the city lits that are part of the state transportation plan, are the responsibility of Street Maintenance Section These roads are maintained as part of the snow plan and include within our maps and routes, or maintained by the State of Kansas through an agreement with Street Maintenance Section silar to the agreements held with other governmental entities. 6

7 STORM PRIORITIES AND RATINGS Emergency Storm Category Ratings Each approaching winter storm will be given an Estimated Storm Category Rating (ESCR) by Street Maintenance Section Management staff. The rating will be used to deterne appropriate manpower and equipment needs to address the event. ESCR s range from level 5 to level 1, with a level 1 event being the most severe and requiring the largest response of resources. Even though all winter weather events are approached by the methods and means listed within the snow plan document, the category rating is used to preplan and stage assets in the most efficient and cost effective manner possible. The category ratings and preplanning aspects are listed below. ESCR 5 A level 5 event is a storm that is forecast to deliver light precipitation at a time when pavement and ambient temperatures are expected to fall below freezing for a short period of time. During a level 5 event Street Maintenance Section will closely monitor conditions to deterne whether conditions require staff to pre-treat Hot Spots. Hot Spots include emergency response and law enforcement facilities, major hills, bridges, and roadways around hospitals, and other known problem areas that frequently ice up or are prone to drifting. When necessary these Hot Spots will be treated with a liquid deicing material in advance of the weather system, but an event that is forecast to begin with significant rainfall will not pert pre-treatment. During a level 5 event staff will monitor conditions on a 24 hour basis for changes in the weather, to ensure that the storm category does not elevate to a higher level. Usually pre-treatment of locations during a level 1 event will occur during normal business hours and will be supplemented by assigned night shift employees, thus not requiring overtime. All level 5 events will be addressed using Street Maintenance staff, without assistance from other Public Works divisions or contractors. ESCR 4 A level 4 event is a storm forecast to deliver light to moderate precipitation when pavement and ambient temperatures are to be slightly below freezing that will result in a light accumulation of snow or ice on the roadway. During a level 4 event Street Maintenance Section will closely monitor conditions to deterne whether pretreatment of Hot Spots, arterials and collectors is necessary. Hot Spots, arterials and collectors will be treated with a liquid or granular deicing material in advance of the weather system, but an event that is forecast to begin with rain will not pert pre-treatment with either product. During a level 4 event the Street Maintenance Section will either place Street Maintenance staff on stand-by or call in additional staff if conditions worsen. Staff will also monitor conditions on a 24 hour basis for changes in the weather, to ensure that the storm category and response levels do not change and elevate to a higher level. All level 4 events will be responded to by Street Maintenance. No other Public Works divisions or contractors will be activated. ESCR Level 3 A level 3 event is a storm forecast to deliver moderate precipitation during a time period when pavement and ambient temperatures are at, and anticipated to remain below freezing during a significant amount of time, with total ice and snow accumulations of less than 4 inches. During a level 3 event, management will mobilize all applicable city staff and operate in two twelve hour split shifts for 24 hour coverage of street deicing activities. 7

8 Level 3 events can require treatment of paved surfaces with a liquid pre-treatment or granular deicing products, and nor plowing of snow* that has blown into drifts; but not implementation of contracted plow vehicles. Any event anticipated to be a level 3 or higher event, will require activation of staff from divisions within Public Works. As soon as a level 3 event is anticipated, Street Maintenance staff will begin contacting the respective Public Works divisions to notify of the intent to mobilize. ESCR 2 A level 2 event is a storm forecast to deliver moderate to heavy precipitation during a significant period of time when pavement and ambient temperatures are at and anticipated to remain below freezing throughout the event. A level 2 event is expected to deliver heavy snow and ice with accumulations of greater than 4 inches. Management will mobilize all applicable city staff and operate in two twelve hour split shifts for 24 hour coverage. Work will include plowing and deicing of the emergency snow routes, all primary and secondary roadways, and windrowing and hauling off of snow accumulating in the downtown and North Topeka business districts. Level 2 events will require call up and dispatch of all designated Public Works staff, snow hauling contractors, and any contracted heavy snow plowing contractors. Level 2 events require executive management decision to activate emergency snow routes and communication with the media that emergency snow routes have been activated. When it becomes necessary to request implementation of the emergency snow route ordinance, Street Maintenance staff will make the request through the Director of Public Works. ESCR 1 - A level 1 event is a major storm forecast to deliver heavy precipitation during a significant period of time, when pavement temperatures are at and anticipated to remain below freezing for an extended period of time. A level 1 event is expected to deliver heavy snow and ice with accumulations in excess of 6 inches. Management will mobilize all applicable city staff and operate in two twelve hour split shifts for 24 hour coverage. Work will include plowing of the emergency snow routes, all primary and residential roadways, windrowing and haul off of snow accumulating in the downtown and North Topeka business districts. Level 1 events will require call up and dispatch of all designated Public Works staff, snow hauling contractors, heavy snow plowing contractors as well as the light duty residential snow plowing contractors. Level 1 events require executive management decision to declare a snow emergency, activate emergency snow routes and communication with the media that emergency snow routes have been activated, and approval to plow all city streets including single pass plowing of residential streets. *When a winter weather event elevates to where plowing is necessary, the Street Maintenance Section can contact the Public Works Director to request that the City Manager implement the Snow Emergency Route Ordinance (10.55). If the Snow Emergency Route Ordinance is activated, parking is banned on all designated emergency snow routes. Cars parked or stalled on these streets will be subject to a fine and may be towed at the owner s expense. The news media will report when the snow emergency routes are in effect. Utilities and Transportation staff can decide to begin plowing at any point during an event that the conditions ght require. Plowing usually begins ahead of the snow emergency route ordinance being activated. 8

9 ADDITIONAL DEICING AND PLOWING TOPICS Emergency Snow Routes Emergency Snow routes are located and posted throughout the city and are identified on the Master Map. Due to their close proxity to certain buildings and/or facilities and the heavy traffic flow they carry, these routes represent the highest priority roadways to deice and plow when we are dealing with an event. In order for us to quickly accomplish this work, the Emergency Snow Route ordinance can be invoked by the City Manager, Public Works Director, or their designee. To invoke the Emergency Snow Route Ordinance, the Street Maintenance Division will request its implementation from the Director of Public Works, who will in turn request and gain approval for implementation from the City Manager. The Emergency Snow Route Ordinance prohibits parking or becong stuck without snow tires anywhere along one of the routes anytime the ordinance is activated. During this time, crews will plow these routes curb to curb and spread deicing material on the roadway. Vehicles that become stuck without snow tires or left parked along these roadways are subject to citation or tow away at the owners expense, as pertted by the ordinance. Anytime the ordinance is implemented, there is a two hour wait period before it officially takes effect. Street crews can begin plowing anytime conditions warrant, and most times we will begin plowing Emergency Routes before it is officially activated. The ordinance does not control when plowing can commence, only when vehicles can be ticketed or towed. It is posted below Traffic emergency proclamation. Whenever snow, freezing rain, sleet, or any other climatic conditions are such that serious travel conditions may result, the director of the public works department may declare traffic emergency. Appropriate notice of this event will be given to available broadcast media and newspapers for publication. In the event of a traffic emergency:(a) No one shall operate a motor vehicle on an emergency snow route in such a manner or condition that such vehicle will become stalled due to the vehicle not being properly equipped with effective snow tires or chains; and (b) No vehicle shall be parked on any street designated as an emergency snow route. These prohibitions will remain in effect until the director of the public works department has ternated the traffic emergency. (Ord , ; Code Code ) Establishment. Snow routes will be designated and established with the installation of emergency snow routes sign. The director of public works shall cause appropriate signs to be installed along each emergency snow route. (Ord , ; Ord , ; Code Code ) Posting of signs. The director of the public works department shall cause appropriate signs to be installed along each emergency snow route. (Code Code ) Parking of vehicles on snow route prohibited during traffic emergency. No vehicle shall be parked on any emergency snow route during a period of driving emergency as provided in this chapter. (Code Code ) Driving on snow routes restricted during traffic emergency. Until the traffic emergency is ternated by the director of the public works department, no person shall operate a motor vehicle on any emergency snow route established in this chapter in such manner or condition that such vehicle will become stalled by reason of the fact that the driving wheels of such vehicle are not equipped with tire chains or snow tires. Other tires or devices may be approved and recognized by the director of the public works department and the police 9

10 department as being satisfactory devices or tires for the maintenance of traction under adverse climatic and street conditions. A list of other tires and devices which are approved by the director of the public works department and by the police department shall be available for inspection at the police department and at the office of the director of the public works department. (Code Code ) Sidewalks and Footbridges in the Public Right of Way Even though public sidewalk maintenance including the removal of snow and ice is the responsibility of the adjacent property owners, certain sidewalks located in the public Right Of Way (ROW) are cleared as part of citywide snow removal efforts by staff from the Public Works Inspection Construction Section and D.O.C. inmate crews utilized by Street Maintenance. These sidewalks are specifically identified within the operational plans used to execute and manage events. Generally, these sidewalks do not have property owners adjacent to them. Sidewalks along or immediately adjacent to governmental properties are cleared by the responsible governmental agency, but not as part of the snow plan. Sidewalks and footbridges are cleared using motorized equipment and hand tools. Sidewalks that are treated are included as walkways treated; footbridges are listed as bridges treated on the Master Map attached to this document. Even though the locations are listed on the master map, footbridge locations can be viewed on a separate map supplied on Table 8. Inmate crews assigned to the Street Maintenance Section clear the bridges over Interstate 70 in the downtown area and the various footbridges around the city. Street Maintenance only tracks and documents sidewalk and footbridge clearing executed by their staff or inmate crews. Construction Inspection is responsible for documenting all sidewalk clearing executed by their staff. All deicing and plowing activities should be documented within the Cityworks information system. Commercial and Residential Sidewalks Topeka's Municipal Code ( Removal of snow or ice from public sidewalks) requires that all residential sidewalks be shoveled within 48 hours after a snow fall ends. Commercial sidewalks must be cleared within 24 hours from the end of an event. There are provisions within the code for locations along major roadways where the city plows are forced to plow material onto the sidewalks, but walks covered with snow that has fallen that are left un-shoveled may be cleared by city crews at the expense of the property owner. City code is established for this issue to keep sidewalks safe and passable. Pushing or Shoveling Snow in the Street We have all faced the problem of driving on a plowed street only to run into a spot where someone has placed snow onto the street. For this reason, clearing of commercial and residential driveways must be executed in a manner that does not place snow or ice into any street or alleyway. Failing to abide by this 10

11 requirement creates a safety hazard and the person comtting the act can be cited, charged for removal, and possibly found to be liable for any accidents that occur due to the negligence. Snow Plowed on Sidewalks and Driveways Even though snow plowing staff is instructed to make every attempt to avoid plowing snow into private property and driveway openings, when crews are cleaning your street, they have no place to push the snow except to the curb. This can create the unavoidable problem of already cleaned sidewalks and driveways becong re-covered with snow. Unfortunately, the city does not have the resources to clean everyone's sidewalks and driveways. The Public Works Department asks for your cooperation in removing the snow again. City Code pertinent to sidewalk snow and ice removal is posted below. City Code Removal of snow or ice from public sidewalks. (a) Residential Property. It shall be unlawful for the owner of record of real property, with a zoning use group designation of R-1, R-2, R-3 or R-4 (single-faly dwelling districts) or M-1 (multiple-faly dwelling districts), immediately adjacent to a public sidewalk on public right-of-way to fail to remove from the sidewalk, within 48 hours after the end of a snow or ice event, deterned by the city manager or designee based on information from the National Weather Service for Topeka, any snow or ice accumulated on such sidewalk or obstructing such sidewalk. If ice has accumulated of such character as to make removal thereof impossible, the sprinkling or placement of sand, ash or other noncorrosive material thereon within the time specified for removal in such a manner as to make such sidewalk safe for travel of pedestrians shall be deemed compliance with the provisions of this chapter; provided, however, the residential property owner shall not be cited for an accumulation of snow or ice on the sidewalk when the accumulation is caused by the snow removal activity of the city, the state of Kansas, or any other political and taxing subdivision of the state. (b) Multifaly, Commercial and Nonresidential Property. It shall be unlawful for the owner of record of real property with a zoning use group designation of M-2, M-3, M-4, or E (multiple-faly dwelling districts), D&O (multiple-faly dwelling and office district) or C (commercial districts), O&I (office and institutional districts), D (downtown districts) or X (xed use districts) immediately adjacent to a public sidewalk on public right-of-way to fail to remove from the sidewalk, within 24 hours after the end of a snow or ice event, deterned by the city manager or designee based on information from the National Weather Service for Topeka, any snow or ice accumulated on such sidewalk or obstructing such sidewalk. If ice has accumulated of such character as to make removal thereof impossible, the sprinkling or placement of sand, ash or other noncorrosive material thereon within the time specified for removal in such a manner as to make such sidewalk safe for travel of pedestrians shall be deemed compliance with the provisions of this chapter. (c) It shall be unlawful to push, plow or otherwise move snow and/or ice which has accumulated in a public or private parking area, sidewalk, driveway, or roof onto any public sidewalk, alley, public street, private street, street right-of-way, or handicapped stall. Mailboxes/Fire Hydrants Curbside mailboxes and fire hydrants may become blocked. Since the city does not have the resources to remove snow from the mailboxes, the Public Works Department asks that you clear the snow from your mailbox to allow the post office to deliver your mail. The U.S. Post Office does not require all snow to be removed from the mailbox, but enough to allow the mail trucks to drive up to the mailbox for delivery. Attention to fire hydrants greatly assists the Fire Department in that most critical time of responding to a fire. 11

12 Snow plowing can also damage mailbox posts, depending on where they are placed and where plow vehicles need to place the plow to remove accumulated snow. Mailboxes damaged by being struck by a snow plow should be reported through a claim form available in the City Clerk s office. Mail box damage can also be reported to the call center, which will generate an inspection by Street Maintenance staff, and any mailbox deterned to be damaged by, and at the fault of city staff, will be replaced by the Street Maintenance section using internal procedures. Mail boxes that show significant rotting of the post will not be approved for replacement. Mail Box damage reported through the city claim forms used by the City Clerk and Legal Department will be processed through standard procedures established for the claims process. Workers are required to report damage to mail boxes when they are aware it occurred. Alleys Our top priority is to remove snow from the city streets to allow traffic flow and safe routes for emergency vehicles. Alleys are not part of the city's snow removal plan, but as time and manpower exist, if a service request is received by the city call center from a trash hauler for an emergency pickup, crews will sufficiently plow paved alleys and approaches to facilitate garbage removal. We cannot plow unpaved surfaces and some alleys are too narrow for snowplows to navigate. Parked cars can also prevent alley plowing. In these cases, the residents adjacent to these alleys are encouraged to clear the snow. Event Costs and Accountability The following costs associated with snow removal will be recorded within the Cityworks maintenance management system. Each event that arises will have a separate work order that captures all labor and material costs, and also the day, date, and time of the start and end of each event. Records will pert each event to display a total cost for the event and the system will pert totals for all annual events to be reported upon. Personnel cost Material cost Equipment cost Maintenance and repair cost Contract hauler Contract snow Plowing Damage claims Miscellaneous cost Complaints The Transportation Operations Division needs all problems and complaints called into the city call center as soon as possible during a snowstorm. You may call that office at (24 hour line) or also access this system through the click to fix icon posted on the city home page at 12

13 Guidance for Anti Icing Operations This section is supplied to provide our guide to highway anti-icing operations that is used by field personnel. Its purpose is to provide you a step by step guide of the procedures staff uses when dealing with a winter weather event from start to finish, and suggest maintenance actions for preventing the formation or development of packed and bonded snow or bonded ice during a variety of winter weather events. It is intended to complement the decision-making and management practices of a systematic anti-icing program so that our roads can be efficiently maintained in the best possible condition. The guidance is based upon the results of more than four years of anti-icing field testing conducted by 15 state highway agencies and supported by the Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP) and the Federal Highway Adnistration (FHWA). It has been augmented with practices developed outside the U.S., where necessary, for completeness. The recommendations are subject to refinement as U.S. highway agencies gain additional experience with anti-icing operations. Final decisions for their implementation rest with management personnel. Guidance for anti-icing operations is presented in Tables 1 to 6. The tables are provided for six distinctive winter weather events. The information contained in the tables has been developed and tested over time; using data obtained from multiple agencies and jurisdictions and from actual experience with winter weather events here in Topeka. The field guidance tables are used by management staff after they have established an Emergency Storm Category Rating (ESCR). The ESCR is used for staging and implementing resources while the six event scenarios are used to approach and deal with the actual conditions brought by the storm. The six scenarios are: Light Snow Storm Light Snow Storm with Period(s) of Moderate or Heavy Snow Moderate or Heavy Snow Storm Frost or Black Ice Freezing Rain Storm Sleet Storm The tables suggest the appropriate maintenance action to take during an initial or subsequent (follow-up) anti-icing operation for a given precipitation or icing event. Each action is defined for a range of pavement temperatures and an associated temperature trend. For some events the operation is dependent not only on the pavement temperature and trend, but also upon the pavement surface or the traffic condition at the time of the action. Most of the maintenance actions involve the application of a checal in either a dry, liquid, or pre-wetted form. Application rates ("spread rates") are given for each checal form where appropriate. These are suggested values and should be adjusted, if necessary, to achieve increased effectiveness or efficiency for local conditions. The rates given for liquid checals are the equivalent dry checal rates. Application rates in volumetric units such as L/lane-km (or -) must be calculated from these dry checal rates for each checal and concentration. Comments and notes are given in each table where appropriate to further guide the maintenance field 13

14 personnel in their anti-icing operations. We believe following the contents of this plan, and the other attached supporting documents we use for each and every event, will provide the most efficient and cost effective methods to deice and plow Topeka s streets. The below glossary should also help provide a better understanding of ternology. Glossary of Terms Black ice. Popular term for a very thin coating of clear, bubble-free, homogeneous ice which forms on a pavement with a temperature at or slightly above 0 o C (32 o F) when the temperature of the air in contact with the ground is below the freezing-point of water and small slightly super-cooled water droplets deposit on the surface and coalesce (flow together) before freezing. Dry checal spread rate. The checal application rate. For applications it is simply the weight of the checal applied per lane kilometer (or le). For liquid applications it is the weight of the dry checal in solution applied per lane kilometer (or le). Freezing rain. Super-cooled droplets of liquid precipitation falling on a surface whose temperature is below or slightly above freezing, resulting in a hard, slick, generally thick coating of ice commonly called glaze or clear ice. Non-super-cooled raindrops falling on a surface whose temperature is well below freezing will also result in glaze. Frost. Also called hoarfrost. Ice crystals in the form of scales, needles, feathers or fans deposited on surfaces cooled by radiation or by other processes. The deposit may be composed of drops of dew frozen after deposition and of ice formed directly from water vapor at a temperature below 0 o C (32 o F) (sublimation). Light snow. Snow falling at the rate of less than 12 mm (1/2 in) per hour; visibility is not affected adversely. Liquid checal. A checal solution; the weight of the dry checal in solution applied per lane kilometer (or le) is the checal application rate the "dry checal spread rate" used in this appendix. Moderate or heavy snow. Snow falling at a rate of 12 mm (1/2 in) per hour or greater; visibility may be reduced. Sleet. A xture of rain and of snow which has been partially melted by falling through an atmosphere with a temperature slightly above freezing. Slush. Accumulation of snow which lies on an impervious base and is saturated with water in excess of its freely drained capacity. It will not support any weight when stepped or driven on but will "squish" until the base support is reached. 14

15 Table 1. Weather event: light snow storm. PAVEMENT INITIAL OPERATION SUBSEQUENT OPERATIONS COMMENTS TEMPERATURE RANGE, AND TREND pavement surface at time of maintenance action checal spread rate, (gal/lb/lane-) maintenance action checal spread rate, (gal/lb/lane-) Above 0 o C (32 o F), steady or rising Above 0 o C (32 o F), 0 o C (32 o F) or below is imnent; ALSO -7 to 0 o C (20 to 32 o F), initial operation Dry, wet, slush, or light snow cover Dry Wet, slush, or light snow cover None, see comments Apply liquid or prewetted checal Anti-Icing Apply liquid or checal or prewetted (100) (100) None, see comments liquid Plow as needed; reapply liquid or checal when needed or prewetted 1) Monitor pavement temperature closely for drops toward 0 o C (32 o F) and below 2) Treat icy patches if needed with checal at 28 kg/lane-km (100 lb/lane-); plow if needed 1) Applications will need to be more (100) frequent at lower temperatures and higher snowfall rates 2) It is not advisable to apply a liquid checal at the indicated spread rate when the pavement temperature drops below -5 o C (23 o F) 3) Do not apply liquid checal onto heavy snow accumulation or packed snow remaining in range -10 to -7 o C (15 to 20 o F), Dry, wet, slush, or light snow cover Apply prewetted checal (200) Plow as needed; reapply prewetted checal when needed (200) If sufficient moisture is present, checal without prewetting can be applied remaining in range Below -10 o C (15 o F), steady or falling Dry or light snow cover Plow as needed Plow as needed 1) Not recommended to apply checals in this temperature range 2) Abrasives can be applied to enhance traction CHEMICAL APPLICATIONS. (1) Time initial and subsequent checal applications to prevent deteriorating conditions or development of packed and bonded snow. (2) Apply checal ahead of traffic rush periods occurring during storm. PLOWING. If needed, plow before checal applications so that excess snow, slush, or ice is removed and pavement is wet, slushy, or lightly snow covered when treated. 15

16 Table 2. Weather event: light snow storm with period(s) of moderate or heavy snow. PAVEMENT INITIAL OPERATION SUBSEQUENT OPERATIONS COMMENTS TEMPERATURE RANGE, AND TREND Above 0 o C (32 o F), steady or rising Above 0 o C (32 o F), 0 o C (32 o F) or below is imnent; ALSO -4 to 0 o C (25 to 32 o F), pavement surface at time of initial operation Dry, wet, slush, or light snow cover Dry Wet, slush, or light snow cover maintenance action None, see comments Apply liquid or prewetted checal Apply liquid or checal checal spread rate, (gal/lb/lane-) liquid or prewetted (100) (100) maintenance action None, see comments Plow as needed; reapply liquid or checal when needed light snow liquid checal spread rate, (gal/lb/lane-) heavier snow or prewetted light snow (100) (200) heavier snow 1) Monitor pavement temperature closely for drops toward 0 o C (32 o F) and below 2) Treat icy patches if needed with checal at 28 kg/lane-km (100 lb/lane-); plow if needed 1) Applications will need to be more frequent at lower temperatures and higher snowfall rates 2) Do not apply liquid checal onto heavy snow accumulation or packed snow 3) After heavier snow periods and during light snow fall, reduce checal rate to 28 kg/lane-km (100 lb/lane-); continue to plow and apply checals as needed remaining in range -10 to -4 o C (15 to 25 o F), remaining in range Dry, wet, slush, or light snow cover Apply prewetted checal (200) Plow as needed; reapply prewetted checal when needed (200) (250) 1) If sufficient moisture is present, checal without prewetting can be applied 2) Reduce checal rate to 55 kg/lane-km (200 lb/lane-) after heavier snow periods and during light snow fall; continue to plow and apply checals as needed Below -10 o C (15 o F), steady or falling Dry or light snow Plow as needed Plow as needed ) It is not recommended that checals be applied in this temperature range 2) Abrasives can be applied for traction CHEMICAL APPLICATIONS. (1) Time initial and subsequent checal applications to prevent deteriorating conditions or development of packed and bonded snow. (2) Apply checal ahead of traffic rush periods occurring during storm. PLOWING. If needed, plow before checal applications so that excess snow, slush, or ice is removed and pavement is wet, slushy, or lightly snow covered when treated. Table 3. Weather event: moderate or heavy snow storm. 16

17 PAVEMENT INITIAL OPERATION SUBSEQUENT OPERATIONS COMMENTS TEMPERATURE RANGE, AND TREND Above 0 o C (32 o F), steady or rising Above 0 o C (32 o F), 0 o C (32 o F) or below is imnent; ALSO -1 to 0 o C (30 to 32 o F),remaining in range -4 to -1 o C (25 to 30 o F), remaining in range -10 to -4 o C (15 to 25 o F), remaining in range Below -10 o C (15 o F), steady or falling pavement surface at time of initial operation Dry, wet, slush, or light snow cover Dry Wet, slush, or light snow cover Dry Wet, slush, or light snow cover Dry, wet, slush, or light snow cover Dry or light snow cover maintenance action None, see comments Apply liquid or prewetted checal checal rate, (gal/lb/lane-) liquid or prewetted (100) Apply liquid or checal (100) Apply liquid or prewetted checal ( ) Apply liquid or checal ( ) Apply prewetted checal (200) Plow as needed maintenance action None, see comments Plow accumulation and reapply liquid or checal as needed checal spread, (gal/lb/lane-) liquid Plow accumulation and reapply liquid or checal as needed Plow accumulation and reapply prewetted checal as needed Plow accumulation as needed or prewetted 1) Monitor pavement temperature closely for drops toward 0 o C (32 o F) and below 2) Treat icy patches if needed with checal at 28 kg/lanekm (100 lb/lane-); plow if needed 1) If the desired plowing/treatment frequency (100) cannot be maintained, the spread rate can be increased to 55 kg/lane-km (200 lb/lane-) to accommodate longer operational cycles 2) Do not apply liquid checal onto heavy snow accumulation or packed snow 1) If the desired plowing/treatment frequency (200) cannot be maintained, the spread rate can be increased to 110 kg/lane-km (400 lb/lane-) to accommodate longer operational cycles 2) Do not apply liquid checal onto heavy snow accumulation or packed snow (250) 1) If the desired plowing/treatment frequency cannot be maintained, the spread rate can be increased to 140 kg/lane-km (500 lb/lane-) to accommodate longer operational cycles 2) If sufficient moisture is present, checal without prewetting can be applied 1) It is not recommended that checals be applied in this temperature range 2) Abrasives can be applied to enhance traction CHEMICAL APPLICATIONS. (1) Time initial and subsequent checal applications to prevent deteriorating conditions or development of packed and bonded snow -- ting and frequency of subsequent applications will be deterned primarily by plowing requirements. (2) Apply checal ahead of traffic rush periods occurring during storm. PLOWING. Plow before checal applications so that excess snow, slush, or ice is removed and pavement is wet, slushy, or lightly snow covered when treated.. Table 4. Weather event: frost or black ice. PAVEMENT TRAFFIC INITIAL OPERATION SUBSEQUENT OPERATIONS COMMENTS 17

18 TEMPERATURE RANGE, TREND, AND RELATION TO DEW POINT Above 0 o C (32 o F), steady or rising -2 to 2 o C (28 to 35 o F), remaining in range or falling to 0 o C (32 o F) or below, and equal to or below dew point -7 to -2 o C (20 to 28 o F), remaining in range, and equal to or below dew point -10 to -7 o C (15 to 20 o F), remaining in range, and equal to or below dew point Below -10 o C (15 o F), steady or falling CONDITION Any level Traffic rate less than 100 vehicles per h Traffic rate greater than 100 vehicles per h Any level Any level maintenance action None, see comments Apply prewetted checal Apply liquid or prewetted checal Apply liquid or prewetted checal Apply prewetted checal checal spread rate, (gal/lb/lane-) liquid or prewetted (25-65) (25-65) Any level Apply abrasives (65-130) ( ) lbs per lane le maintenance action None, see comments Reapply prewetted checal as needed Reapply liquid or prewetted checal as needed Reapply liquid or prewetted checal when needed Reapply prewetted checal when needed Apply abrasives as needed checal rate, (gal/lb/lane-) liquid or prewetted (25-65) (40-115) (25-65) (65-130) (65-130) ( ) lbs per lane le Monitor pavement temperature closely; begin treatment if temperature starts to fall to 0 o C (32 o F) or below and is at or below dew point 1) Monitor pavement closely; if pavement becomes wet or if thin ice forms, reapply checal at higher indicated rate 2) Do not apply liquid checal on ice so thick that the pavement cannot be seen 1) Monitor pavement closely; if thin ice forms, reapply checal at higher indicated rate 2) Applications will need to be more frequent at higher levels of condensation; if traffic volumes are not enough to disperse condensation, it may be necessary to increase frequency 3) It is not advisable to apply a liquid checal at the indicated spread rate when the pavement temperature drops below -5 o C (23 o F) 1) Monitor pavement closely; if thin ice forms, reapply checal at higher indicated rate 2) Applications will need to be more frequent at higher levels of condensation; if traffic volumes are not enough to disperse condensation, it may be necessary to increase frequency It is not recommended that checals be applied in this temperature range TIMING. (1) Conduct initial operation in advance of freezing. Apply liquid checal up to 3 h in advance. Use longer advance times in this range to effect drying when traffic volume is low. Apply prewetted 1 to 2 h in advance. (2) In the absence of precipitation, liquid checal at (75 lb/lane-) has been successful in preventing bridge deck icing when placed up to 4 days before freezing on higher volume roads and 7 days before on lower volume roads. Table 5. Weather event: freezing rain storm. PAVEMENT INITIAL OPERATION SUBSEQUENT OPERATIONS COMMENTS TEMPERATURE maintenance checal spread maintenance action checal spread rate, 18

19 RANGE, AND TREND Above 0 o C (32 o F), steady or rising Above 0 o C (32 o F), 0 o C (32 o F) or below is imnent -7 to 0 o C (20 to 32 o F), remaining in range -10 to -7 o C (15 to 20 o F), remaining in range Below -10 o C (15 o F), steady or falling action rate, (gal/lb/lane-) (gal/lb/lane-) None, see comments Apply prewetted checal Apply prewetted checal Apply prewetted checal Apply abrasives None, see comments (75-100) Reapply prewetted checal as needed (75-250) ( ) lbs per lane le Reapply prewetted checal as needed (75-250) Reapply prewetted checal as needed ( ) Apply abrasives as needed lbs per lane le 1) Monitor pavement temperature closely for drops toward 0 o C (32 o F) and below 2) Treat icy patches if needed with prewetted checal at kg/lane-km ( lb/lane-) (75-100) Monitor pavement temperature and precipitation closely 1) Monitor pavement temperature and precipitation closely 2) Increase spread rate toward higher indicated rate with decrease in pavement temperature or increase in intensity of freezing rainfall 3) Decrease spread rate toward lower indicated rate with increase in pavement temperature or decrease in intensity of freezing rainfall 1) Monitor precipitation closely 2) Increase spread rate toward higher indicated rate with increase in intensity of freezing rainfall 3) Decrease spread rate toward lower indicated rate with decrease in intensity of freezing rainfall It is not recommended that checals be applied in this temperature range CHEMICAL APPLICATIONS. (1) Time initial and subsequent checal applications to prevent glaze ice conditions. (2) Apply checal ahead of traffic rush periods occurring during storm. Table 6 Weather event: sleet storm. PAVEMENT INITIAL OPERATION SUBSEQUENT OPERATIONS COMMENTS TEMPERATURE RANGE, maintenance action checal spread rate, (gal/lb/lane-) maintenance action checal rate, (gal/lb/lane-) 19

20 AND TREND Above 0 o C (32 o F), steady or rising None, see comments None, see comments 1) Monitor pavement temperature closely for drops toward 0 o C (32 o F) and below 2) Treat icy patches if needed with prewetted checal at 35 kg/lane-km (125 lb/lane-) Above 0 o C (32 o F), 0 o C (32 o F) or below is imnent Apply prewetted checal / Plow as needed, reapply prewetted checal when needed Monitor pavement temperature and precipitation closely -2 to 0 o C (28 to 32 o F), remaining in range Apply prewetted checal / Plow as needed, reapply prewetted checal when needed ) Monitor pavement temperature and precipitation closely 2) Increase spread rate toward higher indicated rate with increase in sleet intensity 3) Decrease spread rate toward lower indicated rate with decrease in sleet intensity -10 to -2 o C (15 to 28 o F), remaining in range Apply prewetted checal / Plow as needed, reapply prewetted checal when needed ) Monitor precipitation closely 2) Increase spread rate toward higher indicated rate with decrease in pavement temperature or increase in sleet intensity Below -10 o C (15 o F), steady or falling 3) Decrease spread rate toward lower indicated rate with increase in pavement temperature or decrease in sleet intensity Plow as needed / Plow as needed 1) It is not recommended that checals be applied in this temperature range 2) Abrasives can be applied to enhance traction CHEMICAL APPLICATIONS. (1) Time initial and subsequent checal applications to prevent the sleet from bonding to the pavement. (2) Apply checal ahead of traffic rush periods occurring during storm. Table 7 Master Deicing Street Map 20

21 Table 8 Footbridge Deicing Map 21

22 22