Winter Maintenance

SnowCleanup

Snow and Ice Removal

Public Works strives to keep the roads free of ice and snow during the winter, it is not always possible to have clear travel surfaces. It is a challenge to effectively remove snow and ice from roads and sidewalks, and the cooperation of the public is always appreciated.

Laconia experiences a wide range of precipitation during the winter. During moderate to major storm events, Laconia deploys 10 to 12 plow trucks and three sidewalk plows. It takes approximately four hours for each plow truck to complete their route once. If it is snowing an inch an hour, there will be four inches of snow on the street before the next pass of the plow trucks. Primary roads are plowed first, with secondary roads following. During light snow storms, the roads are treated with salt and/or sand in place of plowing.

DPW removes snow banks from parking lots and key City streets between storms. The Downtown, Lakeport and areas with on-street parking needs are cleared first, along with major intersections. Other areas are cleared as resources permit.

How Residents Can Assist:

  • Do not place snow in the roadway and sidewalk areas.
  • Do not park on the street during snow removal operations. Plow trucks are very wide, and have difficulty maneuvering around parked vehicles.
  • Do not park on sidewalks. Allow room for sidewalk plows to clear the sidewalk in front of your residence. If you have a short driveway, pull in enough to allow the sidewalk plows to cross your driveway.
  • Place your trash and recycling at the end of your driveway in a location that prevents both the sidewalk plow and the street plow from knocking it over. Do not place your trash and recycling on top of snow banks.
  • Give snow plows plenty of room to operate. Plow trucks with wing plows are wide, and often encroach into the oncoming lane. Also, do not follow plow trucks too closely. They often need to back up as they clear their route.
  • Do not snow blow into the public right of way.
  • Do not plow snow from a driveway across a public right of way.


Public Sand Pile

There is a sand pile available for public use behind the Public Works garage at 257 Messer Street. Residents are limited to taking 2 five-gallon buckets at a time. The City does not deliver salt to residents.

DPW’s sand and salt supplies in the sheds on Bisson Avenue are for DPW use only. No residents or businesses are allowed to use the materials in those sheds.