Property owners are responsible for removing snow and ice from all sidewalks in front of their properties within twenty-four hours after a snowfall. Residents may wish to clear their driveways after the last pass of the snowplow. 

The Township equipment operators are not permitted to clear private roads or driveways.

Roadways are prioritized based on their designation as an emergency route and classification as a primary, secondary or tertiary road. The Township is divided into 12 sections for plowing purposes. Each section has a set of plows that work in conjunction to remove the snow as efficiently and effectively as possible.         

Emergency Routes have priority over all roadways to ensure emergency vehicles, residents and visitors can travel in and out of the Township. Plows are sent to these major arterials first in a “tandem” formation. Tandem refers to approximately 6 to 7 plow vehicles that work together to clear the road. The video below depicts a Tandem in action with a brief explanation on Old York Road.

The Township has six tandem routes covering 24 streets including: Old York Road, Township Line Road, Easton Road, Old Welsh Road, Jenkintown Road, Keswick Avenue, Susquehanna Road, Fitzwatertown Road, Highland Avenue, Rockwell Road, Fox Chase Road, Meetinghouse Road, Edge Hill Road, Moreland Road, Limekiln Pike, Mt. Carmel Avenue, Baeder Road, Church Road and Cedar Road. Once the tandem routes are clear the plows disperse into 12 sections which cover all roadway types. 

 

 

 

When a winter storm is forecasted, the Public Works Department monitors the expected conditions before, during and after the storm. The Department develops its plan on how to address the storm based on many factors, including the amount of precipitation; temperature before, during and after the storm; the time of the storm; storm strength; and the type of the snow, upon others. These conditions will determine whether or not the Township should salt and/or plow, as well as, the amount of personnel and equipment needed. Every storm is different but an average snow event takes approximately 12 hours to plow and will have an average of 45 trucks and 60 personnel plowing and/or shoveling.   

Curb to curb plowing is done for several reasons. First is safety. Curb to curb plowing allows for the largest amount of roadway to be maintained and open for travel. It also enables there to be adequate space to place additional snow in the event of a second or third storm. Curb to curb plowing is also critical to allow drains to remain accessible so when the snow starts melting it finds its way into the storm sewer rather than flooding lawns and homes. 

Because plowing will inevitably push snow towards driveways to clear the roadway, residents are respectfully asked to wait until after a storm event is over and their street is plowed to shovel. This will all but eliminate the chance of having to shovel your property and sidewalk clear more than once.  

Abington Township Public Works Department is responsible for snow removal on over 200 miles of roadway throughout the Township. The Township is contracted with PennDOT and Montgomery County to conduct the plowing on State and County roads. This allows the Township to respond immediately to snow and ice events, rather than wait for either entity to respond. 

The snow plow can more effectively and efficiently remove snow during a storm if the street is clear. Not only will your street be better plowed and more accessible, but the plows can move more quickly enabling your neighborhood to be cleared faster. It also eliminates the chance of any vehicular damage during a storm.

Overall, moving a car from the roadway makes the street safer for all travelers as it reduces the amount of residual snow and ice on the roadway after a storm.  If you do leave your car in the street, please be sure to shovel the snow around and on your car off of the street. Leaving the snow in the roadway may result in icy conditions and make the roadway unsafe for your family and neighbors. Please remember, “where the snow lays is where it will stay.” Please DO NOT push or shovel snow into cleared streets or sidewalks. 

Yes. Trash collection will occur as usual unless otherwise announced.

Winter Salt Sense from the Environmental Advisory Council

Using salt to melt snow helps keep roads and sidewalks safe, but when the snow melts, salt ends up in our creeks, where it can harm plants and animals—from small plankton and insects to large fish and birds. Applying too much salt can kill grass, trees, and other plants adjacent to roads and sidewalks and harm pets when they get salt on their paws. Excess salt on roads, driveways, and parking lots can cause corrosion on cars and other vehicles.

• The huge amount of salt people apply on roads, driveways, and sidewalks impairs water quality and harms our plants, pets, and wildlife.
• If you must use salt, do it sparingly. (Think one handful per yard of walkway or driveway.)
• Remove snow or ice on sidewalks and driveways before you apply salt.
• Sweep up excess salt after the storm for reuse the next time.
• Look for environmentally safe and pet safe products.

Abington Township occupies land that drains into three waterways: Pennypack Creek, Whissahickon Creek, and Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Creek. These creeks drain directly or indirectly into the Delaware River, which provides drinking water to millions of people. Water treatment plants are not equipped to filter out the extra salt, which can end up in tap water and groundwater and corrode metal water pipes.

Helpful Links

• Because of human activity, our creeks frequently have levels of salt that are toxic to aquatic life: https://www.inquirer.com/news/delaware-river-watershed-salt-levels-20190528.html 
• How road salt harms the environment: https://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2018/12/11/road-salt-harms-environment/ 
• What you can do: https://www.iwla.org/water/stream-monitoring/winter-salt-watch/what-you-can-do 
• Environmental impacts and comparison of deicing agents: https://stormwater.pca.state.mn.us/index.php?title=Environmental_impacts_of_road_salt_and_other_de-icing_chemicals 
• U.S. Geological Survey: https://www.usgs.gov/news/urban-stream-contamination-increasing-rapidly-due-road-salt 
• Best practices: https://www.iwla.org/water/stream-monitoring/winter-salt-watch/road-salt-best-practices 
• Voluntary training and certification for public and private drivers and salt applicators: https://www.pca.state.mn.us/water/salt-applicators
• http://www.cityofmadison.com/live-work/sustainability/winter-salt-certification/get-certified 
• Application rate guidelines: https://www.wisaltwise.com/Tools/Application-Guidelines-Calculator 
• Smart Salting Assessment Tool: https://stormwater.pca.state.mn.us/index.php?title=Smart_Salting_Assessment_tool_(SSAt) 
• How to minimize damage to plants: https://extension.psu.edu/minimize-deicer-damage-with-salt-tolerant-plants 
• Local volunteers urge smarter road salting practices: https://www.montgomerynews.com/publicspirit/volunteers-urge-smarter-road-salting-practices-to-save-streams/article_166aba82-88a5-11ea-9ab6-4353ef56b261.html