Cars parked on streets causing major problems for snowplows

Snowplow operators have been working 12-hour shifts to get the roads in South Lake Tahoe cleared of snow, and they will continue widening roads starting Friday to prepare for the next storm.

During winter snow conditions, snow plows have the right of way on streets and vehicles left unattended in the streets are subject to a citation and/or getting towed. Law enforcement is seeing a large number of cars parked on neighborhood streets and not where they belong in driveways.

According to South Lake Tahoe Police Chief Brian Uhler, 86 citations were issued during last week's blizzard to owners of cars left parked on city streets, and several more were issued today as round two of January storms dropped snow in the Lake Tahoe basin. SLTPD also responded to 65 calls for disabled cars stuck on roads last week. There were also a couple of incidents where a plow hit a car buried in snow.

Snowplow operators in the City have 259 miles of roads to clear, and during a major storm they will clear all primary arterial and collector roadways like Pioneer Trail, Al Tahoe Blvd., Tahoe Keys Blvd., Venice Drive, Sierra Blvd. and Ski Run Blvd. Once those are cleared they'll make one pass through other streets.

Expect City crews to be widening all side streets starting Friday in preparation for the big storm hitting Sunday.

Over on the County side of things, nine snowplow operators per shift have caught up with widening most of the 100 miles of roads they work on from Strawberry to South Lake Tahoe. They had a lot of delays in clearing roads due to downed power lines and fallen trees in the roadway during last week's storms.

Snow Removal for Safety
“Snow Safe” suggestions when snow conditions exist:

City snow plows are deployed when an average of three (3) inches of snow have fallen (accumulated) on the ground city wide. When snow conditions, snow plows have the right of way on streets and vehicles left unattended in the streets are subject to citation and/or tow. The best policy is to keep your vehicle(s) parked off the streets at all times.

Cars subject to citation and/or tow are those parked in the street right-of-way. The City right-of-way extends beyond the edge of the pavement to the property line, generally 5 to 10 feet beyond the edge of the pavement.

The primary purpose of snow removal is to clear snow from streets for emergency vehicles, school buses, hospital entry, refuse trucks and all vehicle traffic.
The City is asking that you keep all trash containers behind the berm, on your property. Improper placement of trash containers can result in damaged containers and/or snow removal equipment. This affects the level of service we are able to provide to the community.

When shoveling snow from your driveway, shovel to the right as you face the street. This way, the plow will move the snow further down the road, rather than move the shoveled snow back into your driveway.

Child Safety-please keep children indoors while snow removal operations are underway.

Pedestrian Safety-Don't watch snow removal operations from the edge of the road.
Back Off - Keep a safe distance (40+ feet) when driving/standing behind snow removal equipment.