Shakopee Snapshot: Winter 2024-25

PUBLIC WORKS Make the most of your snow removal efforts Whether you love or hate snow, dealing with it in the winter is a nec essary evil of living in Minnesota. To maximize the snow removal situation around your home, the City recommends following these guidelines:

No street parking after two inches of snowfall. Move vehicles from the street when a snowstorm is occurring. More information can be found online at www.ShakopeeMN.gov/snowremoval. Clear sidewalks adjacent to your home. Property owners are respon sible for clearing snow/ice on sidewalks adjacent to residential prop erties within 36 hours and commercial properties within 24 hours. The city plows some sidewalks along collector streets, as well as all trails within city limits. Do not push snow into the street or alley. Plowing, shoveling, blow ing or placing snow onto public roadways causes traffic hazards and is prohibited by Minnesota statute and City of Shakopee ordinance. Shovel around mailboxes and fire hydrants. Shovel a 3-foot path from the road to the hydrant and a minimum of three feet on all sides of the hydrants. Consider shoveling a path for meter readers or mail carriers in your yard or between yards. Do not put your garbage carts in the street. Place garbage and recy cling containers at least two feet back from the curb to avoid contact with snowplows. Mailboxes directly hit by the plow will be repaired or replaced. Report damage to publicworks@ShakopeeMN.gov . If you have a question or request for street, park or utility maintenance, call Pub lic Works at 952-233-9550 or email publicworks@ShakopeeMN.gov . Remind children it is dangerous to play in snowbanks at the end of a road or driveway. Plow drivers add snow to snowbanks during plowing. Children tunneling into snowbanks risk being trapped or gravely injured by a snowplow. Community members can view maps of the City’s plow routes at www.ShakopeeMN.gov/plowroutes . Just one teaspoon of salt permanently pollutes five gallons of water, meaning one person can make a big difference by being more mind ful and cutting their usage in half. Now imagine the positive impact on water quality and local wildlife populations if every household in Shakopee cut their salt usage in half! Follow these tips to help you reduce your salt use: ■ Below 15 degrees? Hold the salt. Most salts lose their effectiveness once the air temperatures hit 15 degrees or less. Wait to use salt until the temperature warms up a bit, and in the meantime try sprinkling some sand for traction. ■ Shovel: The more snow and ice you remove manually, the less salt you will need to use and the more effective it will be. ■ Apply less: Salt is incredibly effective, and it’s common to overestimate how much you need. When you sprinkle your sidewalk or driveway, the salt granules should have about

Visit www.ShakopeeMN.gov/snowremoval for information about plowing policies.

Winter Prep Tips from the Public Works Department

■ Start up your snow blower at the beginning of the season to ensure it works properly and dust off your snow shovel ■ Contact a snow removal service ■ Inspect your mailbox ■ Install reflective yard markers ■ Remember to give plows space on the road ■ Be prepared to move any street parked vehicles if there are more than two inches of snowfall

Think of the fish; hold the salt Reduce winter salt use to help protect wildlife, drinking water

3-inches between them. A full coffee mug should be enough for a two-vehicle driveway or front walkway. ■ Sweep up excess: If salt or sand is visible on dry pavement it is no longer doing any work and will be washed away. Sweep up this salt or sand to use again later. ■ Store away from moisture: Keep salt inside or covered to prevent rain or snow from carrying it away. As a City, our Public Works Department adheres to best practices for snow removal, including the use of brine instead of salt as an ice pre vention method to minimize our impact on salt pollution. The City is also working to install a weather monitoring station to help forecast and monitor real-time road conditions. For more information about the City’s water pollution prevention efforts, www.ShakopeeMN.gov/swppp .

10 Shakopee Snapshot