Snow & Ice Control

During a snow/ice event, we will post updates on road conditions, Monday – Friday, on the City’s Winter Weather Road Report webpage. You can also view road conditions at points around town through our real-time Street Snow Cams.

Longmont’s designated snow routes are designed to create an efficient network for accessibility throughout town using arterial and collector roadways. Arterial roads provide access to destinations across town (east-west or north-south) or to transportation networks outside of town. Collector roads move traffic in/out of neighborhoods and provide access to schools, hospitals, and other local destinations. Collectors also funnel traffic to arterial roadways.

Designated snow routes also must meet certain operational criteria for safety and drivability:

• Avoid left turns and U-turns
• Have available areas to pile snow as needed
• Have no surrounding obstacles or safety hazards

If you have to travel during or after a storm, plan your trip using snow routes as much as possible for the best conditions.

View a map of the Snow Routes.

The decision to begin snow operations is based on many factors. These factors include predicted weather conditions, air and ground temperatures, and the potential for consecutive storms occurring in a short time period. Planning for a six inch snow storm will vary significantly depending on the month, forecasts, and existing road conditions.

We utilize a variety of advanced monitoring systems to gather timely and accurate information for planning and deployment, including:

• hourly & daily temperatures
• local and long term forecasts
• live street cameras
• pavement and air temperatures
• snow fall measurements
• radar maps

The safest place to be is behind the snow plow. Try to stay at least 100 feet behind a snow plow. The snow plow operator has limited visibility due to the weather conditions, size of snow plow and the blowing snow.

We ask that drivers have patience when approaching a snow plow and refrain from passing it.

• Maintain a safe distance between your car and the plow.
• Signal your turning intentions, both in front of and behind plows.
• Refrain from passing any snow plow until the plow vehicle stops or turns.
• Avoid driving into a snow spray cloud that is created by the plow as this may cause a total “white out” of zero visibility to the driver.
• Use extra caution when driving near specialized wing plows, which have a regular 12 foot plow in the front and a 9 foot wing plow that hangs to the right. This wing plowing system clears both the driving lane and shoulder lane or two lanes of traffic in one pass, and it can be extremely dangerous for motorists who try to pass the plow.

The City of Longmont uses two deicing products on roads referred to as Meltdown® Apex and Ice Slicer®.  Both products are naturally occurring and approved for transportation system deicing by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA).  Safety data sheets for these chemicals are linked below.  A third product, sodium chloride, is used for anti-icing operations in a brine solution.  Sodium chloride is common table salt.

Deicing refers to the application of salts to driving or walking surfaces to melt existing snow and ice.  Anti-icing refers to the application of salt to driving and walking surfaces before a storm to prevent snow and ice from bonding to the pavement and making it easier to clear.  All deicing and anti-icing products are used in conformance with industry standards and guidelines to enhance effectiveness and minimize environmental impacts.

Safety Data Sheets
• Meltdown
• IceSlicer

Many people use sidewalks daily in order to travel through the city (even when it snows). Longmont Municipal Code states that you have 24 hours after snow or ice stops falling to clear your sidewalks. View the Municipal code.

When snow fall is predicted to be low or moderate, consider waiting until the storm has ended and snow plow operations have finished before clearing your sidewalks. If you have sidewalks along a plowed street, shovel sidewalk snow onto your property instead of into the street; this will help minimize any additional snow that may inadvertently get pushed onto the sidewalk by plows. It’s impossible to completely avoid conflicts between snow removal on sidewalks and streets, so we have to work together and timing is key.

When significant snow accumulates, there are a few ways to handle the increased challenge of clearing sidewalks:

• Shovel multiple times during the storm to minimize build up
• Organize a neighborhood shoveling team
• Invest in a snow blowing machine
• Hire a contractor

The City of Longmont maintains traffic signals, performs road maintenance and provides snow and ice control along these state and U.S. highways that run through the city limits:

• State Highway 119 from Fordham Street on the southwest edge of Longmont to Fairview Street on the city’s eastern edge
• U.S. Highway 287 from Pike Road on the city’s southern edge to Park Ridge Avenue on the northern edge of Longmont

The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) is responsible for state and U.S. highways outside of those parameters, including State Highway 66.

To submit feedback or a customer comment, please visit the CDOT Questions/Comments/Concerns webpage at www.codot.gov/topcontent/contact-cdot. Longmont is a part of CDOT Region 4 (North/Northwestern Colorado).

There are a few reasons why City of Longmont snow plow operators do not plow the parking lanes during a snow and ice event. Much has to do with the freeze/thaw cycle and what would be left behind for homeowners and drivers to deal with.

Snowed piled in the curb and gutter does not dissipate as quickly and can turn to ice when going through the freeze/thaw cycle. This ice blockage prevents the snow melt from reaching storm drainage inlets, leading to standing water that can freeze and extending how long it takes for the storm’s snow and ice to go away.

In the case of a large snow event, pushing the snow all the way to the curb leaves less room for cars to park within the parking lane.

The windrow (the technical term for that tiny mountain of snow left after plowing) remains smaller when only plowed to the edge of a bike lane or parking lane than it would be if taken all the way to the curb. Smaller windrows melt faster, returning our streets to to clear sooner. Additionally, larger windrows can result in a pile directly in front of a business entrance or homeowner’s driveway, making it more difficult for vehicles to leave and enter.

Roads are slightly crowned in the middle to facilitate drainage to the road edge where storm drains carry snow melt and rain water away from the road surface. If snow were plowed to the center of the road, Mother Nature’s freeze and thaw cycles would cause ice to continually build on the travel lanes, resulting in even worse traction. Our roadways, drainage systems and snow plow equipment are all designed to work best when snow is moved to the side.

CDOT has a much more uniform task of plowing long straight stretches of roads working in tandem. Their blades are much heavier and create greater downward force that would damage urban infrastructure such as storm sewers and other utilities in the roadway.  Cities on the other hand must work in narrow roads around much more cross traffic and other obstacles such as storm drainage infrastructure. City equipment uses casters or hydraulics on blades to prevent them from damaging urban roads and infrastructure. In general, plowing in urban areas is more challenging and costs considerably more per lane mile.

Anti-icing is the process of spraying material onto the road before a storm that lowers the temperature at which ice will form on it. It is typically sprayed far enough ahead of a storm so that it will dry and reactivate when snow falls. The material only works under certain conditions, so you will not see crews conduct anti-icing in extremely cold temperatures.

Colorado’s climate undergoes significant temperature swings in the winter months due to abundant sunshine.  Snow melts quickly during the day and freezes at night.  Most of the freezing occurs in or near the gutter in the street.  Extended freeze-thaw cycles after a major storm can cause significant ice build-up.

The City maintains 340 miles of centerline roadway in Longmont. About half of this – 140 miles – is plowed as part of the annual Snow & Ice Control Program. Snow & Ice Control is funded through the City’s Street Fund Sales and Use Tax, 3/4 of a cent on every dollar purchase in Longmont. This voter approved tax must cover a wide range of transportation projects and maintenance needs. Approximately $750,000 to $1,000,000 is spent each year on snow and ice operations.

• Provide access to emergency services.
• Maintain the safest possible flow of commuter traffic through the city during the storm, emphasizing access to bus routes and schools.
• Restore normal driving conditions as soon as possible after the storm has ended.

• It would be very expensive (at least double the cost)
• Many residents would end up with an even greater snow removal burden on sidewalks and driveways, etc.
• Plowing would often create rows of snow in residential areas blocking driveways, street-parked cars and trash carts – resulting in worse conditions than leaving the road unplowed.

The Residential Snow Plow Program is launched only in severe storms to keep residential streets, or side streets, passable. We consider deploying this program to be an emergency measure only used under specific criteria because it employs such expensive and extensive resources. Because of these reasons, the residential plows do not deploy every time snow falls. Learn more on the Residential Plowing Program webpage.

Snow plowing is intended to reduce the depth of snow accumulation on roads and improve traction. It is not intended to immediately expose the paved surface, nor does it maintain normal levels of surface traction. Accumulated ice and snow may remain on roads for days and even weeks when weather conditions inhibit thawing. Normal road speeds and stopping distances can be impaired for considerable lengths of time in snow climates.

Make certain that your vehicle is ready for winter driving conditions long before a storm rolls into town. Being prepared means that your vehicle has decent tires (snow tires or chains are smart investments, especially if your vehicle is without all-wheel drive or 4×4), good wiper blades, a working defroster and an ice scraper.

We ask for cooperation from our residents in keeping their sidewalks clear from snow and ice. Many people use sidewalks daily to travel through the city (even when it snows). Longmont Municipal Code states that you have 24 hours after snow or ice stops falling to clear your sidewalks. View the complete Municipal code.

City resources primarily focus on removing snow from the streets for safe emergency response and vehicle travel. City Parks Maintenance Operations does remove snow from some designated community sidewalks and trails; view a map of those areas.

If you need to travel during or after a storm and are unable to walk along a sidewalk in certain areas, please use the maps on the Snow Routes webpage to plan your trip, or walk through a residential area where sidewalk clearing is required. (This may mean going down or over a block.)