What does a plowed street look like in Detroit?
The city directed snowplow contractors to clean up residential streets by Monday at midnight. Plowing neighborhood streets is a rare occurrence, only triggered when the city receives at least six inches of snow. Several contracts worth $4.2 million ensure coverage for each City Council district, and Department of Public Works inspectors followed up on Tuesday to check if the work was completed.
BridgeDetroit asked readers to share how their streets looked Tuesday morning.
The emailed responses suggest the city’s standard for plow contractors falls short of the expectations of some residents. Residents are encouraged to report snow removal issues through the Improve Detroit App, web platform, or call the DPW Street Maintenance Division at (313) 224-0033.
District 4 resident Gwen Wee lives on Bishop Street just north of Mack Avenue. She saw a snowplow truck pass her house on Monday, but said “the snow appears untouched except for the tire tracks.”
Director of Media Relations John Roach said contractors are expected to make streets passable, not remove all snow from curb to curb.
“The contractual requirement is to clear a 16-foot path so two vehicles going in different directions can both pass at the same time,” Roach said in an email. “That’s basically two passes with an 8-foot wide plow. The goal is to make sure that residents are able to get down the street to a main road that is both salted and plowed curb to curb.
Detroit has 1,884 miles of residential streets and 673 miles of major roads that are plowed more often by DPW crews.
City contractors are required to leave no more than 1.5 inches of snow in residential intersections. All streets around the perimeter of each school must be plowed from curb to curb to provide safe drop-off and pick-up of students.
This can get tricky if plows come when cars are parked in the street, which is why the city sent out an emergency alert Sunday night asking residents to keep streets clear of vehicles for 24 hours.
Roughly 50 complaints came through the Improve Detroit app between 1 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. in the hours after the city issued a Tuesday press release explaining how to report snow removal issues. Some Detroiters reported no difference in the snow on their streets, while others said large piles of snow were pushed along in the road.
North End resident Jeff Herron said his street was plowed Sunday night, but said others may not have realized it if they didn’t know contractors are only supposed to make streets passable. He said the plow scraped off fresh powder that fell on Sunday but “had no impact on the packed snow” that had already been on the street.
“A visitor might not believe it if we told them the street had been plowed, but it’s helpful,” he said in an email to BridgeDetroit.
Detroit resident Daisy Murril wasn’t aware of the city’s standard until it was shared by BridgeDetroit. She said drivers can get stuck in snow that’s piled up on the sides of a street, which is frustrating because drivers often need to pull to the side to let traffic pass streets with parked cars.
Annie Beaubien, another District 4 resident living on Yorkshire Road, said she hasn’t seen any signs of plows on her street. Snow had instead been packed down by vehicle traffic. Beaubien said she’s noticed busier streets that should be plowed more often are also difficult to navigate in the winter.
“I think my bigger issue is that even the major streets near me, like Cadieux and Warren, seem to take a while to be plowed,” Beaubien said. “It was particularly frustrating because of course as soon as I crossed into Grosse Pointe, Cadieux was completely cleared. I understand the standards for residential streets, especially because there are so many, but I feel the city should be more on top of treating and clearing main roads.”
National Weather Service data shows the Detroit area received roughly 4.8 inches of snow on Sunday, pushing the total snow depth to 9 inches. It was the first time snow plows were activated to clean residential streets this winter.
Temperatures aren’t forecast to get above freezing in the next week, making it unlikely that packed-down snow will melt in the days ahead.
The City Council authorized two-year contracts with five companies in 2024. At-Large Council Member Mary Waters said she’s noticed snowed-in streets as she’s navigated the city this week. Waters said she “got a feel for what people were going through” and wants to see follow-up with contractors.
Roads within the city limits are maintained by multiple government agencies.
The city is responsible for major and minor streets. Wayne County is responsible for freeways and county roads like East and West Outer Drives, parts of Seven Mile and Fenkell Street, and others. State trunklines like Woodward, Gratiot and Michigan avenues are handled by the Michigan Department of Transportation.