City of Lakewood Rolls Out New Snow & Ice Control Plan to Address Harsh Winter Weather

Proactive Plan Includes Innovations and Updates to Keep City Streets and Sidewalks Safe

The City of Lakewood today announced the completion of its first official comprehensive Snow & Ice Control Plan, with key changes to City policies and procedures to be implemented this winter. Previously, snow and ice control strategy were not aligned across departments and codified in a single place, and Mayor Meghan F. George’s administration made developing an official plan a priority this year in advance of the onset of cold weather.

“The City of Lakewood’s new Snow & Ice Control Plan adds key elements and updates many others in our approach to keeping Lakewood’s streets and sidewalks safe during winter,” said Mayor George. “Our Public Works and Planning departments did a deep dive during our warm weather months, and involved all relevant City departments to brainstorm how we can improve our snow and ice protocols and practices to ensure we provide the best service possible for Lakewood.”

Mayor George highlighted a new pilot project in the plan that will provide Lakewood residents up to five gallons of rock salt at no cost at five locations throughout the City: Madison Park North Parking Lot; Lakewood Park Skate House; Cove Park; Kauffman Park; and Lakewood Dog Park. The program is for residents only (not for contractors, landscapers, businesses, etc.), and begins on December 1^st. Interested residents must bring their own shovel and bucket to load material themselves. Residents can return for more salt later if they use their initial five gallons before the end of winter. As part of the program, Lakewood will be including signage at each free salt location advising residents on environmentally safe and smart salt usage – including that one coffee cup of salt is enough to treat ten concrete sidewalk slabs.

“Lakewood is known for being a highly walkable community, and our goal is to make sure that remains true even in winter,” said Mayor George. “We heard from many residents that keeping sidewalks safe during cold weather was a priority, and we are piloting this salt program to help address those concerns.” The residential salt program will be evaluated in the spring of 2023 to determine its effectiveness and whether it should continue moving forward. The City will also continue to partner with LakewoodAlive on a program that provides snow shoveling assistance for elderly and disabled residents.

In addition to the introduction of the salt program, the Snow & Ice Control Plan includes revisions to the City’s snow removal priority routes and maps, updating city signage regarding snow streets, and additions to its communications protocols during inclement weather to ensure the public is advised of any parking bans. The City plans to soon roll out an automatic notification system that will help with events such as snow emergencies.

The new plan also will address the City’s overall capacity to proactively plan for and respond to harsh winter weather. Regarding equipment, the City will attach snow plows to additional, smaller City vehicles so it can deploy more plows on the street simultaneously. With respect to personnel, the City is implementing changes to its policies to ensure additional coverage during holiday and weekends and to proactively address overall manpower needs.

The City’s full Snow & Ice Control Plan can be found online by clicking here.