City of Moberly Policy and Procedures on Snow Removal

What streets does the City plow: While most of the streets inside the City Limits are the responsibility of the City of Moberly to clear, exceptions to that are State or County roads, private roads, and drives. Some examples are Hwy 63, business 63, Hwy 24, Route DD, EE, JJ, & M, and the outer roads.​
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​What streets are cleared first:  The City has designated snow routes through town, which are marked with snow route signs and are the first to be plowed. When a snow storm is anticipated, vehicles are not to park along these designated roads so that plows can adequately clear the streets. Vehicles parked in these areas may be towed at the owner’s expense.

Crews then move to secondary streets and subdivisions with the goal of clearing driving lanes first. Assuming snow has ceased, it takes 5 hours for crews to plow all of these streets with a single pass driving lane. Once driving lanes have been established, crews will start plowing the snow in the parking lanes, to the curbs.​​
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​Why does the City fill my driveway with snow:     Plow trucks have to plow the snow to the curb. The plow operator can't flip the blades around when they go by a driveway as that would unload the snow into the street. People wanting to dig out driveways should be aware that once the drive lanes are cleared, plow drivers will make at least one additional pass at a later time to clear the parking lanes. Residents wanting to prevent their driveway from being refilled with plowed snow can clear out the area immediately prior to their driveway, this which will allow the snow being carried by the plow to unload in the cleared area prior to a driveway​​Why does City haul the snow out of downtown.

Due to the angle parking in the downtown, the heavy snowfall must be windrowed in into the center of the street and hauled away. We have done this for many years, based on the level of accumulation.​​
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​Why doesn't the City salt the streets heavier:   We can store around 500 tons of salt in our facilities. With the first snow in November we used nearly 150 tons of material. It can take 60 days or more to get replacement material to refill our stock pile. In the past during heavy years we have not been able to get replacement salt for most of the winter. To conserve material, we focus its use on hills, curves, and intersections. While some of the slow speed secondary streets may have some slick spots remaining, judicious use ensures that we have materials on hand for future storms.
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​​​Why are the railroad crossing snow packed:  We are required to lift our plows in the RR crossing areas to avoid any damage to the rails. This snow becomes packed and rough in these areas, but we don't have a choice.​
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​What does it cost for to complete snow removal:  Salt alone costs around $110/ton. It is mixed with a melting accelerator called Geomelt, derived from beet juice that greatly increases the effectiveness of the salt, which adds about $7.50/ton to the cost of materials. In some cases the salt and geomelt is mixed with sand to improve traction. For this first event of the year, material costs, labor costs, third party contracting cost, fuel, and the time/value of equipment, the cost was approximately $33,050.

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​How long does it take to complete snow removal:   The Street Department crews worked from approximately 3 pm on the 25th through 11 am of the 26th (32 hours). Crews then began alternating shifts to work on clearing street side parking, parking lots, trails, and the airport. The total time spent on snow clearing and removal for this event is 80-90 hours ​.
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​Does the City blade sidewalks and alleys Residents in the City of Moberly are required by ordinance to clear the sidewalks adjacent to their property:    The City does plow the designated trails in the community as street crew staff becomes available. We will also send a small blade into the downtown to assist with sidewalks, however it is still the property owner’s responsibility to clear and or finish removal of snow from sidewalks. There are only a few alleys that the City will clear on a regular basis where is no alternative parking available for those residents, however it is at the bottom of the priority list of snow removal.
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