With significant snow expected to enter the forecast, the City of Geneva would like to remind residents about parking regulations to ensure plowing operations run smoothly and efficiently through the community.

The Public Works Department’s primary objective during winter storms is to perform snow removal and control operations on the City’s streets due to adverse conditions. The Police Department works cooperatively with the Public Works Department to enforce parking bans declared during significant snow events. With the cooperation and assistance from residents and visitors, Public Works crews will be able to maximize the effectiveness of their snow removal and control operations.

When road conditions become hazardous and snow and ice control procedures are required, streets that are posted as “Snow Emergency Routes” are cleared of snow and ice first. These snow emergency routes are streets that have a high volume of traffic, with higher speed limits. These streets are posted with red, white and blue “Snow Route” signs. Parking on all snow routes is prohibited when there is a snowfall of 2 inches or more.

Once snow emergency routes have been cleared of snow or ice, plows then remove snow and ice from the secondary streets.  Secondary streets include alleys, cul-de-sacs, and dead ends. Parking is prohibited on secondary streets when there is a snowfall of 3 inches or more.

During a major snowstorm, the Public Works Department can call for restricted parking on the basis of a forecast by the U.S. Weather Bureau, or other weather service, of snow, sleet or freezing rain. If weather conditions are forecast to be hazardous to motorists, a parking ban may be put into effect to promote public safety and welfare on the roadways.  Access to snow emergency routes and secondary streets is important to providing emergency services (police, fire, and medical) to all residents and visitors as quickly as possible.

During major snow events, people can find plowing updates posted on the City’s website. People can subscribe to receive those updates by clicking the “Notify Me” button and selecting “Community Alerts.”  Information also will be available on the City’s Facebook and Twitter accounts.