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Completion Date
December 2024
Current Phase
Community Engagement

Project Overview

Responding to snow and ice events in Boulder is a partnership between multiple city departments, including Transportation and Mobility, Parks and Recreation, Code Enforcement, local partners and private property owners. Between 2023 and 2024, the city conducted an analysis of its current Snow and Ice Response Program, which included several community engagement opportunities, to understand community preferences and needs, assess industry service levels, and consider changes to the program to better meet goals and expectations. The review focused on potential changes to snow and ice clearing on streets, bus stops, multi-use paths, the on-street bike network and shoveled areas maintained by the city’s Transportation and Mobility Department.

For more information about how the city currently approaches clearing snow and ice, visit the Snow and Ice Response webpage.

Recommendations and Next Steps

The primary recommendation from the review is to establish a storm-size response framework that clearly defines which areas will be cleared of snow and ice and the level of service the community can expect based on the severity of a storm. This approach allows the city, together with its partners, to respond to snow and ice events with the flexibility to scale the program up or down based on available staff, funding and changing infrastructure. Additionally, focusing on the amount of snowfall helps make it clearer to the community what type of response to expect, compared to the existing system, which primarily uses street classification to prioritize clearing. This restructuring also allows staff to focus on priorities we heard from the community, such as clearing major streets, key pedestrian crossings, multi-use paths and critical bike routes.

Recognizing the constrained citywide and departmental budget condition, staff will utilize the recommended storm-size response framework to prioritize snow and ice response within the existing budget. The storm-size response framework also recommends specific timeframes for snow clearing, however, due to limited staff and equipment, these timeframes may not be met under current budget conditions. Other recommended elements that do not require new or adjusted funding levels will also be implemented, including the updated program purpose and goals, level of service criteria aligned with current resources, updated standard operating procedures, and the commitment to expanded data and communications. Through 2024, we will continue to advance budget-neutral portions of the project including final refinements to the program criteria and racial equity analysis.

Following direction and confirmation from the 2025 budget process, we will develop materials to communicate program changes for the 2024/2025 winter season to the community.

The recommended storm-size response framework uses forecasted storm size to guide resource deployment on streets, multi-use paths and shoveled areas. The framework divides snow and ice response into small (trace – three inches), medium (three to eight inches), and large (more than eight inches) snow events. When snowfall exceeds the forecast, the department will strive to meet the higher level of service commitment as resources allow. The city’s snow team may pre-treat streets and paths, provided that:

  • The precipitation will start with snow (not rain or sleet).
  • There is enough time to apply between snow events.

Boulder typically receives 25 to 46 snowfalls annually, with the majority of these bringing less than three inches of accumulation.

Recommendations Requiring Additional Funding

The storm-size response framework recommends expanding the snow and ice response network to include clearing snow from additional streets and bus stops to improve access to multimodal travel options. It also suggests supplemental sidewalk clearing to assist community members who are physically unable to clear sidewalks themselves so they can be compliant with city code.

However, these additional recommendations cannot be fully operationalized with current staffing levels and equipment. To reach the recommended level of service and response timeframes outlined in the storm-size framework, five additional medium-sized plows and eight additional full-time employees would be required. In total, the start-up cost is estimated at $2.69 million. An additional $1.39 million each subsequent year would be required to maintain the expanded program.

During our community and stakeholder engagement, we heard that focusing snow and ice clearing services on the most used transit stops does not fully meet the needs of community members with disabilities. Basing snow clearing on high-use stops may not cover where people live or need to go, forcing them to wait until snow and ice has melted to be able to access the bus for travel.

Staff recommend clearing an additional 36 transit stops for a total of 77 stops, compared to the existing 41 stops. The city also runs a Shovel-a-Stop program where volunteers clear transit stops in their neighborhoods, covering another 38 stops. With the recommended additions and including transit stops cleared by RTD, CU-Boulder, and other agencies, all stops with more than 35 riders a day will be cleared of snow.

The recommendations also account for additional transit stops to be cleared of snow for disability access. Five additional transit stops were added to cover clearing at vital transit stops for community members with disabilities that do not meet the ridership cutoff of 35 riders a day.

The recommendations include a new program for residential exemptions to supplement code-required clearing of snow from sidewalks by adjacent property owners. Community members who are unable to clear their own sidewalks due to physical limitations and that are not paired with a volunteer from the Snow Busters Program may qualify for an exemption. Those who qualify will have their sidewalks cleared by the city for the duration of the winter season. This program emulates programs in peer cities and responds to themes heard during our community engagement. The program would improve the continuity of our sidewalk network and reduce travel difficulties for community members with mobility challenges.

All multi-use paths maintained by the Transportation & Mobility Department will continue to be cleared and no changes in service are recommended.

To reach the recommended level of service and response timeframes outlined in the storm-size framework, an additional five medium-sized snow plows and eight full-time employees would be required.

The addition of eight full-time employees would help address the challenges experienced in past years with recruiting temporary plow operators. Relying solely on seasonal staffing for this essential public safety service can be unreliable. Staff are often required to work overtime and are unable to take time off during the winter. Increased staffing would help address this issue, improve morale, and make these positions more attractive to potential candidates.

Community Engagement Summary

The first round of community engagement took place in early 2023. The focus was to connect with the community to increase awareness of where snow and ice response services are delivered and learn about satisfaction levels with the existing program. Over 600 community members weighed in with feedback.

The second round of community engagement occurred in early 2024. This round of engagement focused on gathering feedback about potential changes to the program, which were developed from community input and a thorough analysis of the current program.

In early 2024, the city shared and sought feedback on draft recommended changes to the Snow and Ice Response Program based on community input received in the first round of engagement (early 2023) and an analysis of the existing program. The draft recommended changes were presented in a virtual on-demand open house and questionnaire, offered in both English and Spanish. The questionnaire received nearly 200 responses. City staff also met with key stakeholders to collect feedback, including Community Connectors-in-Residence, the Center for People with Disabilities, National Federation for the Blind, Community Cycles, Boulder Transportation Connections and Boulder Chamber.

In the questionnaire and stakeholder meetings, staff sought feedback on the revised program purpose and goals and the draft recommended storm-size response framework. Most respondents supported the revised program purpose and goals and felt that the storm-size response framework increased their understanding of the city’s snow and ice response. Respondents presented mixed opinions about how the proposed recommendations improve multimodal travel and accessibility for all compared to the existing program. Several additional themes emerged from the community and stakeholders:

  • Multimodal travel and accessibility for all should be improved. Increasing sidewalk clearing and shoveled areas can help achieve accessibility for all.
  • The Shovel-a-Stop program should be elevated to increase volunteers and the number of transit stops shoveled.
  • The storm-size response framework needs clarification before being finalized. The framework should be communicated to the public through a variety of methods to increase understanding.