Creative and Cost-Effective Winterization Programs

These programs vary in their structure, but can include cost-sharing agreements, infrastructure upgrades and community outreach programs. The following are some examples of winterization programs that can be implemented in any city. 

Holland, Mich.
The City of Holland uses a heating system that runs along downtown Holland’s busiest retail street. The “Snowmelt” program works by circulating warm water through a grid of piping just below the street and sidewalk surfaces. The water is drawn from Lake Michigan via the public works plant.

Installed at a cost of approximately $1.1 million, Snowmelt was included in a larger streetscape beautification project which warranted the tearing up of streets anyway.  It was funded with a large donation from a local philanthropist, matching funds from the city, and a special property tax assessment. Snowmelt costs between $50,000 and $135,000 to operate each year, depending on how the system is run and the severity of the winter. 

According to Patricia Fitzpatrick of the Holland Downtown Development Authority, “The program has been so successful that it has been expanded to cover 405,000 square feet of Holland’s roads.”

Benefits of the Snowmelt program include less damage to streets by snowplows and deicers, less damage to shop floors by deicing chemicals tracked in by customers and more convenience for downtown shoppers who no longer have to negotiate large piles of snow. 

Little Rock, Ark.
In 2000, the City of Little Rock implemented the Winter Weather and Snow Removal Initiatives. Under this program, the city annually reviews its weather response plans to improve routing efficiency and reduce response time.

The city estimates that one day of snowfall that keeps workers from their downtown jobs costs local businesses $25 million. In order to alleviate this cost, the city uses three satellite salt stockpiles and is planning to build a new salt storage facility. 

Additionally, the city publishes a “Winter Weather Response Manual” for city employees that describes the six snow routes and two bridge routes, emergency call-out procedures, approved vendors and contractors, and identifies locations and access instructions for its remote stockpiles.

Finally, to motivate city employees and test competency, the city hosts an annual equipment Road-E-O competition, which includes a plow installation event.

Charlotte, N.C.
Charlotte has an anti-icing strategy that uses both dry salt and salt brine. Anti-icing is the technique of applying a chemical to prevent the ice from bonding to the pavement, which uses fewer chemicals than if applied after the ice has already bonded.

Charlotte’s brine-making system for anti-icing cost $25,000, including the brine-maker and portable plastic tanks for mounting on existing dump trucks. This program has been duplicated in other southern cities that add anti-icing techniques to their maintenance programs. 

Dekalb, Ill.
While the previous programs have focused on snow removal, the City of Dekalb focuses on community education and awareness. Dekalb’s Weatherization and Beautification program provides housing weatherization and beautification assistance to underprivileged residents. The program was funded by a $12,500 grant from the Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation.

The program began with a winter weather clinic at the local hardware store, where grants were provided to 30 low-income homeowners in order to prepare their homes for winter. In the spring, the program continued by offering a spring weatherization program. The remaining funding was used for six community service projects involving a partnership with Northern Illinois University.

Spokane, Wash.
The City of Spokane’s winter plan is a more traditional approach similar to most U.S. cities. Spokane’s Ice and Snow Control Plan details city policy and control operations during a winter weather situation.

The plan calls for the declaration of a “condition yellow” four hours before an anticipated snowfall of 1 inch of more. During condition yellow, plowing occurs on all major arterial streets when snow depth exceeds one inch. Liquid or dry deicing occurs on all minor streets. 

A “condition red” is declared if 4 inches or more are expected. Once four inches has fallen, all streets are plowed. Priority plowing is given to “snow emergency access routes,” followed by other major arterials, secondary arterials and bus routes, and finally residential streets. 

The Ice and Snow Plan also covers the responsibilities of city snow removal personnel.  Employees of the Maintenance Divisions of various city departments, including Transportation, Water and Wastewater Management are on call for plowing duties in snow emergencies.

These programs vary in their approaches, but all move toward a similar objective of winter weather preparation. 

The first step in implementing a successful winter weather program is identifying the weaknesses in the current process of how the city prepares for winter. After identifying these weaknesses, a city can choose between various winter weather options including cost sharing, public-private partnerships, infrastructure upgrades or increased community outreach.

By designing a winterization program, cities can create an efficient outcome while at the same time cutting costs. It is important to remember that winterization programs should not be limited to northern cities. By creating appropriate winter weather preparedness programs, southern cities can be best suited for the occasional ice or snow storm as well.