Preparing for winter operations for winter parking lot and sidewalk maintenance
Policies/Plans
Start now—develop a maintenance policy or plan that guides winter operations. A little planning and communication up-front can help achieve better results throughout the season.
- Develop a maintenance policy or plan.
- Review the maintenance policy with the crew.
- Inform customers of the maintenance policy.
- In the plan:
- list the key actions to take during a winter event
- list the order of these actions
- address the level of service
- consider customer expectations, the hours and use of the building, priority access points and environmental concerns in the policy
- spell out any additional strategies such as routes, chemicals, application rate ranges etc.
- Follow the plan.
- Document actions.
- Review and update the maintenance policy each year.
Our waters are threatened by contracts which are based on fees for material use. This encourages overuse of materials.
Reduce liability. Establish a maintenance policy and follow it.
Training
Reduce risk by having a solid written winter maintenance policy and training program that utilizes best management practices. Schedule training for supervisors, staff, and customers.
The MPCA has three Smart Salting training classes available:
- Level 1 Winter maintenance of roads
- Level 1 Winter maintenance of parking lots/sidewalks
- Level 2 winter maintenance training for supervisory staff
Check the MPCA website to find out about upcoming training opportunities.
Getting prepared for winter
- Calculate the area of the parking lots, service roads, and sidewalks.
- Understand the environmental problems caused by snow, salt, and sand storage. Determine where and how to best store each item.
- Understand the properties of various deicers, and then select the type(s) to use.
- Train the crew on proper application rates.
- Mark islands, fire hydrants, and other landmarks that could be obscured by snow.
- Note existing conditions of curbs and other items that might be damaged by winter maintenance activities.
- Note or mark all catch basins, manholes, sidewalk segments that may cause a hazard to the plow and the operator.
Drainage
Inspect storm drains in the fall. Remove obstructions such as leaves, sticks, and trash to prepare for the spring melt. Because storm drains lead to lakes, rivers, ponds, and wetlands, never use salt to open frozen storm drains. Salt used to thaw frozen drains harms aquatic life. Use non-chemical methods such as heat to open drains.
Poor drainage on the maintenance surfaces will result in icy surfaces and will increase the risk of safety problems. These areas cause the application of salt on non-snow event days in the winter. To remedy this, inventory the site and note drainage problems. Make a checklist so the professional or client can fix these drainage problems in the summer.
Examples of drainage problems:
- Roof that drips on the steps
- Downspout discharging on sidewalk
- Sidewalk segments sloped into a V
- Potholes or low spots in parking lots
Storm drains lead to the nearest lake, river, pond, or wetland. They do not go to a treatment plant.
Equipment
The trend in winter maintenance is to use less material to accomplish the same results. Following this trend will reduce environmental impacts and save money. Below are listed a few tips, but there are many other innovations in the equipment area that can help to reduce application rates.
- Purchase a pavement sensor (Figure 8)
- Buy equipment that can deliver very low rates of granular products.
- Outfit larger trucks with ground speed controls so that the application rate changes automatically as the speed changes.
- Modify existing equipment so that it can discharge the application rates described in the “Application Rates” section. Older equipment often applies more salt than recommended.
- Outfit sidewalk spreaders with shields to better direct the spread pattern.
- Invest in equipment that can deliver liquid deicers.
- Obtain a tank for liquid storage or find a near-by source of liquids to fill up trucks.