It is not possible to give a definitive answer to when the plows will be on your street, but you can be assured that crews will continue to work to make all roads safe and passable.
Plowing begins once there is at least two inches of snow on the ground. It takes approximately eight hours to plow two lanes of traffic across the entire street network. Crews will work to clear primary routes and maintain a clear, bare driving track on either side of the centerline on secondary streets within twelve hours after the snowfall ends, and on courts and cul-de-sacs within eighteen hours. During and after storms, some streets may remain snow-packed, and snow may accumulate along the edges of the traveled roadway.
In order to promote safe sidewalks during winter months, the owner, occupant, or tenant of every property in the Borough of Carlisle is required to remove all snow and ice from sidewalks with 24 hours from the end of the weather event. The tenant of a property shall be responsible for the removal if the property is a single unit property. In all other situations, the owner is the responsible individual.
Any owner, occupant, or tenant who fails to remove snow and ice within 24 hours may be fined up to $1,000.
Snow plows are designed to move large amounts of snow quickly; unfortunately, they cannot maneuver in such a way to avoid pushing snow at the end of driveways. Our crews are not intentionally dumping snow back onto your cleared driveway. Blocked driveways and mailboxes may be unavoidable due to the volume of snow being plowed off the roadways
We suggest that whenever possible, you refrain from shoveling until the plows have passed or shovel to the right of the driveway if you are facing the street. This helps reduce the amount of snow pushed back in front of your driveway. This graphic from PennDOT offers suggestions for how to clear your driveway to minimize the amount of snow that may get pushed back in front of your driveway.
Crews first work to plow and maintain a clear driving track on either side of the centerline on secondary streets within twelve hours after the snowfall ends, and on courts and cul-de-sacs within eighteen hours.
During and after storms, some streets may remain snow-packed, including the parking areas, and snow may accumulate along the edges of the traveled roadway. Crews will work to widen, but it does take more time and must be balanced to avoid pushing snow onto sidewalks.
- Please move your vehicle off the street if possible. This allows our crews to get as close to the curb as possible.
- Remove basketball hoops, recycling containers, and any other obstacles from the curb or driveway entrances.
- If you spot a fire hydrant covered with snow by your property, you can help us by removing the snow. By helping clear snow around hydrants, it ensures that emergency personnel can access them in the event of an emergency.
- Snow can clog storm drains, resulting in street flooding during rain events or periods of snow. If you are shoveling and see a blocked storm drain, you can help us by taking the time to clear it. The Borough has 990 stormwater inlets to clear and any assistance during winter weather events is welcomed!