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Home My WebLink About#03 - Trail & Sidewalk Snow Removal STAFF REPORT DATE: 3/11/2025 REGULAR TO: City Council FROM: Marty Powers, Public Works Director AGENDA ITEM: Trail/Sidewalk Snow Removal REVIEWED BY: Nicole Miller, City Administrator CORE STRATEGIES: ☒ Vibrant, inclusive, connected community ☒ Efficient, reliable, innovative services ☐ Responsive, transparent, adaptive governance ☐ Balanced Finances now and future ☐ Managed Growth ☐ Resilient Infrastructure BACKGROUND: Over the years the community has grown and with it, many miles of trails and sidewalks have been added. Expectations of a walkable pedestrian system all year around have also been voiced. The city now has over 26 miles of asphalt trails. The City’s past definition of a trail has been an 8-foot-wide asphalt surface designed for higher recreational speeds which include the ability to safely meet oncoming foot or bike traffic in both rural and residential areas. In the past a sidewalk has been defined as a much narrower concrete surface, designed for slower paced walking pedestrian traffic. ISSUE BEFORE COUNCIL: Should the City Council consider snow removal be completed on all asphalt trails or specific segments of trails so they can be included in the snow removal process after snow events. PROPOSAL DETAILS/ANALYSIS: In order to carry out walkway snow removal several factors must be considered; equipment, staffing, timeframe for completion, snow storage, costs, and other challenges including lawn and irrigation damage/repair, wind and lost snow. • Equipment- The current fleet of Public Works vehicles and equipment can accommodate clearing of city trails. V-plows on Pickup trucks would be utilized in the rural sections for the majority of the snow events, as they are the most efficient until the snowbanks get to a height where the snow storage is full, which would then require larger Public Works equipment to wing or blow back the banks to allow for more snow storage • Staffing- At its current staffing level, Public Works uses all 9 operators on the day of a snow event to clear over 99 miles of city streets, over 100 Cul de sacs, parking lots at the city hall, fire hall, county library in addition to completing necessary locates, meter drop offs, well/lift station daily record checks and water sampling. Depending on snow totals and when the snow ends, these tasks can typically be accomplished in an 8 to 12-hour day. On the day after a snow event, Public Works uses at minimum of 5 staff to clear all sidewalks abutting city facilities, parks and out lots, 6 park parking lots, the ice rink, 9 lift stations, 3 wells, 3 water towers, the booster, and both PW facilitates. The remaining 4 operators complete daily rounds, locates, water sampling, plowing equipment maintenance/repairs and start dumping off and washing the corrosive road salt off trucks and equipment. PTO & ESST slow the progress of these tasks down immensely, which often stretches some of these tasks into the third day after a snow event. Back-to-back snow events also delay the completion of many of these tasks including sidewalk snow removal. • Time frame for removal of snow on trails- What would be an acceptable time frame to complete the walkway snow removal? Adding no more than 2 miles of trails to the current sidewalk snow removal route would not add significant over time cost or challenges if the time frame of clearing them would stay consistent with our 48-hour rule to clear sidewalks after a snow event, unless they fall on weekends or holidays. • Contracting Costs- Contracting out 26 miles of City Asphalt Trail Snow Removal estimates have been discussed based on clearing 1” or more snow events. We were informed to expect roughly $28,000 to $30,000 per year as there are an average of sixteen to twenty snow falls exceeding 1”. This estimate does not include a bare pavement expectation or de-icing. • Additional Concerns- In many locations where a trail abuts residential properties, the City’s ROW or property often does not extend much more than 1-3 feet beyond the trail edge. From past experience, I have learned we do not have the legal right to deposit snow onto private property. When clearing trails in front of residential homes, a snow blower is the preferred choice of equipment as not to leave unwanted wind rows in driveways. On the opposite side of the spectrum, the potential of additional complaints regarding blocked trail access will arise if a private driveway is cleared and deposits snow on the trail after the trail was cleared. These complaints along with wind/drifting not concurrent to a snow event and sod or irrigation damage will lead to additional complaints and time to return for cleanup. FISCAL IMPACT: To clear all 26 miles of city asphalt trails • Contacted Services- $30,000 per yr estimated • Additional Trail Snow Removal Equipment- No cost to the city unless snow blower equipment is required for all trails- roughly $90,000 for a trackless Blower unit • Additional Full-Time staff- Approximately $80,000 per yr w/benefits • Seasonal staff, if available- Approximately $6,000 per year • Additional lawn repair - labor, black dirt and seed $3000 OPTIONS: • Clearly Define Trail and Sidewalks • Identify and add specific trail segments to Public Work’s snow removal route • Contract Out Snow Removal of all Asphalt Trails in 2025/2026 • Clear all Asphalt Trails with Additional Public Works Full Time Staff in 2025/2026 • Continue to allow and recommend HOA’s to clear City Asphalt Trails in their Development • Make no changes to the current sidewalk ordinance RECOMMENDATION: Motion to identify specific trails segments as main corridors that do not have sidewalks along that street to be cleared by Public Works ATTACHMENTS: • Supplement Trail/Sidewalk Info • 2023 Map of trail system Supplemental Trail/Sidewalk Info Trails Current Definition. 8’ wide asphalt path designed for higher speed travel that accommodates two-way pedestrian or bike traffic. Public Trails are on city property or retained with an easement for public use and are city maintained. At this time Lake Elmo Public Works does not complete snow removal on any asphalt trails. A few HOAs have elected to contract out the clearing of asphalt trails in their development. To carry out plowing of all 26 + miles of asphalt trails within 48 hours of a snow fall ending, additional resources would be needed. This could come in the form of full-time, part-time or contract services. No additional city equipment is needed at this time to “plow” trails. Public Works has two pickups with V- Plows that could complete the clearing of rural section trails for the majority of snow events. As the banks get larger, Public Works has larger snow blowers or plows that could be utilized to create additional snow storage. Where trails cross numerous driveways, Public Works could utilize a snow blowers to minimize complaints and time. Sidewalks Current Definition. 6’ concrete path used by pedestrians. These Sidewalks are designed for walking pedestrian traffic. Currently all sidewalks in Lake Elmo are to be cleared by the abutting property owner within 48 hours of the snow ending. The current sidewalk plow route takes Public Works approximately 6.5 hours using a snow blower or broom on a Bobcat Tool Cat. This unit then assists to clear the ice rink for additional time. Current Sidewalk Snow Removal Ordinance Ma p Da te : Ju n e, 2 0 3 0 0.75 1.50.375 Miles´ DEMONTREVILLEPARK DEMONTREVILLEWILDLIFE PARK KLEISPARK CARRIAGE STATIONPARK TANA RIDGEPARK FIREFLYPARK PEBBLEPARK SUNFISH LAKEPARK LIONS PARK PILOT PARK HERITAGEPARK TABLYNPARK HEIGHTSPARK RIDGEPARK STONEGATEPARK HAMMESPARK GOOSE LAKE PARK HOMESTEDPARK LEGION AVE. N. PARK EAGLE POINTLAKE LAKE ELMO LAKE JANE OLSONLAKE LAKE D E M O NTRE VILLE GOETSCHEL'SPOND CLEARLAKE SUNFISHLAKE LAKE ELMOREGIONALPARK RESERVE HORSESHOELAKE ROSELAKE KRAMERLAKE REIDPARK VFWPARK IVYWOODPARK GOOSELAKE DOWNSLAKE LAKE JANE HILLS PARK HIDDEN KNOLLPARK C i t y o f L a k e E l m o T r a i l s a n d P a r k s Trail Classification(s)Lake Elmo RoadsCounty/Regional TrailPublic Walking TrailPrivate Walking TrailPublic Walking Trail Unpaved 3 4 .4 0 M il e s o f P u b li c T r a i l s