City of Bowling Green, Kentucky

Snow & Ice Removal (Policies & Routes)

In an effort to keep residents informed on snow removal policies and procedures, below are frequently asked questions and basic guidelines:

• The City is divided into ten (10) work zones.
• Each of those 10 zones are divided into A, B, C and D routes. 
  • Priority A: All main arterials that connect hospitals/ambulances, fire/EMT stations, hot spots, and offsite locations. 
  • Priority B: All remaining arterials and selected collector streets for designated bus routes and around schools.
  • Priority C: All other collector streets and thoroughfares completing a network for the major traffic volume streets. 
  • Priority D: All remaining streets such as residential streets within subdivisions and neighborhoods.
• Plowing will begin once snowfall reaches two inches OR if an extreme amount of snowfall is predicted.
• The City owns and operates 10 large salt and plow trucks and 5small salt and plow trucks.
• In order to avoid overtime but maximize manpower on the streets, crews work in 8 hour shifts 24 hours per day during a snow event. 
• Requests for clearing specific roads can only be taken once the event has ended and the priority roads have been cleared. 
• City trucks are responsible for CITY roads. You may see them travel through County or State roads with their plow up in order to get to various City roads or their assigned work zones. This is also the case with State and County trucks. 
• Information and updates will be posted as often as possible on https://www.facebook.com/citybgky and https://twitter.com/CityofBGKY
• Vehicles parked on the street hinder the ability for snow plows to properly clear the streets. If vehicles are parked on both sides of the street, it can be impossible for crews to get down the street with a plow. 
• Often times during a heavy snow, it is difficult for crews to determine where the curb and gutter is on the road.
• The City is not able to clear private entrances and drives. This is the home-owners responsibility. 
• Please remember if clearing a driveway or parking lot NOT to push snow into the street as it causes a driving hazard. 
• When plowing streets, each truck must make two passes on the street in order to clear it completely of snow. 
• Depending on the accumulation of snow, it may take several passes before crews can leave ‘A’ routes to begin work on B, C and D routes. If snow fall is heavy, crews must continue their efforts on A routes to keep them open. 

How do I know if my road is an A/B/C/D route?

If you would like, you may view the Snow Removal Routes document used by Public Works (Operations Division).