City Streets
Snow Removal
PARKING DURING A STORM – It is illegal to park or leave anything on the road from November 15th to March 15th between 1 a.m. and 7 a.m. with the exception of physicians and authorized emergency personnel. Parking interferes with snow removal. This would be during or after a snowstorm. It is unlawful for anyone to park or leave a vehicle for more than 48 hours on any street, public road, alley, or municipal property. These laws were enacted to protect your property from damage and others from injury. When snowplows go around vehicles left on the street, they leave piles of snow that hardens and can cause damage to vehicles or accidents.
Snow Removal : Required: It shall be unlawful for any person owning, having charge or control of occupying any property, building, lot or part of a lot, land or real estate abutting on any sidewalk of the city; to fail or to refuse or neglect to remove promptly and effectively every snowfall from the sidewalk bordering the property, and to keep the sidewalk effectively clear from snow.
Depositing On Streets Prohibited: It shall be unlawful for any person to remove snow, ice or slush from private property and thereafter to deposit by any means or device upon any city street. If caught depositing snow, ice, etc. on streets will result with a citation issued.
Mailboxes: that are damaged by a City snowplow will only be replaced by the City if they comply with the policy for their installation (closest part of mailbox or structure at least 4 feet above ground with the front of the box even with or behind the curb) and the posts are not rotten where the weight of the snow breaks the post. Residents are required to keep area clear for delivery.
Water Department: If the temperature drops below freezing for more than a few days, you should let your water drip This will help prevent your water pipes from freezing. This will be a small increase in your utility billing, but may prevent costly plumbing work and the inconvenience of being out of water. If you have any questions please contact Public Works at (801) 622-2900.
Snow Removal FAQ's
Question: Why does my street always seem to be the last one plowed?
Answer: In some instances, that will be the case. In the city, we have what we call priority routes. Priority one are those streets that are intensely used, such as collector roads and roads with excessive grade. Priority two is arterial streets that carry traffic to collector streets. Priority three would include all other residential streets in a typical subdivision. And finally, priority four would include cul-de-sacs and dead end streets.
Question: Why do the snowplows come by and plow in driveways, after they have already been by once before?
Answer: When we receive a large snowfall our initial efforts are to just keep the roads open. In most cases the width of the plow blades does not allow us to make just one pass and move the snow all the way back to the curb. Once the snow quits, we try and go back to widen the streets for mail delivery and better traffic flow. It is frustrating, as a homeowner and as a driver, to have your driveway plowed in after you have cleaned it. Unfortunately, as the plow goes by, the snow is always dumped in the only opening, which is the driveway.
Question: Why do the plows come by so late at night even on the weekends?
Answer: Our plows run totally dependent upon the snowfall, and the schedule of our staff. We have six snowplows to clear approximately 50 linear miles of road. We split our crews to avoid excessive overtime, and to make sure that the drivers are not tired. It takes approximately 10-12 hours to plow the entire city.
Question: How come we never see any sand on the roads?
Answer: South Ogden City does not use a sand mixture. We use 100% road salt. Although sand is a bit less expensive, the cleanup in the spring and the damage from the sand ending up in the storm sewer system is extreme. We have also found that a pure concentration works much better in very cold weather.
Subdivision Ordinance
Diagrams