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Snow & Ice
Snow Route Parking Restrictions
No parking shall be permitted on streets designated as a Snow Route after a one-inch snowfall until the streets have been plowed. View the map of no-parking Snow Routes for a list of Snow Route Streets. Always look for and obey red Snow Route signs along Village streets, as routes may change over time. Vehicles in violation will be cited for the violation by the Niles Police Department.
Even if you are not on a designated snow route, please park your car off of the street during snow storms whenever possible to help Public Works clear streets completely.
Planning for Snow and Ice Removal
Snow plowing and ice control for the miles of streets are top priority items during the winter season. Dedicated routes have been established to ensure major thoroughfares and residential and industrial areas receive proper attention during snow and ice storms. We are happy to announce that the Public Works Department hired a contractor who specializes in routing software. With their help, new, more efficient routes have been created to increase the efficiency of the crews when plowing the streets. A primary goal is to attack the storm early on and not wait until it is too late. This results in safe streets plowed from curb to curb, while other towns are just getting started.
Snow Removal Operations
"How does the Village decide when to start plowing streets? Which streets get cleared first?"Should snow continue to fall and salting by itself is no longer effective, the road supervisor will contact the Streets Superintendent who will mobilize the department for a snow removal operation. For snow removal operations, the Village is broken down into various sections. The number of employees and equipment assigned to a snow removal operation will vary depending upon the type and intensity of the storm. If a snow removal operation is anticipated to last an extended period of time, the workforce will be split into shifts, working a twelve‐hour work shift. After the twelve‐hour work period, employees must have eight hours of rest. Generally, if a shift works through the night, they will be sent home at 7:00 a.m., and the second shift will then work until 7:00 p.m. If the storm has continued, the first shift will return to work at 7:00 p.m. to continue snow removal operations.
In rare instances, when a single storm event with extreme blizzard type conditions, or when a series of severe snow storms occur in rapid succession prior to full recovery from the previous storm, it is anticipated the physical conditions caused by these natural events will exceed the capability of existing Public Works staff and equipment.
In such circumstances, the Streets Superintendent or Director of Public Works will activate the Emergency Snow Clearance Plan in concurrence with the Village Manager. Under this plan, snow plowing services shall first be concentrated on opening arterial, collector, significant roads, and bus and snow routes within the corporate limits. Snow removal equipment will be staffed around the clock by reassigning personnel to one of two twelve hour shifts as provided above.
When plowing under adverse conditions, initial opening of heavily drifted areas may require a tractor mounted reversible plow or high capacity snow blower. In extreme circumstances, contractual assistance may be necessary. Clearance of all streets is hereby designated on the basis of five levels of priority services as detailed.
Priority One Streets
- Snow/Bus Routes
- Dempster Street
- Waukegan Road
- Milwaukee Avenue
- Oakton Street
- Touhy Avenue
Priority Two Streets
- Ballard Road (West Border to Washington Street)
- Central Avenue
- Church Street (Milwaukee to Greenwood)
- Cumberland Avenue
- Harlem Avenue
- Howard Street
- Lehigh Avenue
Priority Three Streets
- Gross Point Road
- Main Street
- Maryland Street
- Monroe Street (Cumberland Avenue to Milwaukee Avenue)
- Ozark Avenue (Main Street to Dempster Road)
- Shermer Road
- Washington Street (Dempster Road to Golf Road)
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This priority level includes all other Village maintained residential and industrial area streets. Efforts shall be concentrated on opening a tandem plowing pass on each lane of all local through streets and a single lane on all cul de sacs, dead ends and alleys to accommodate reasonable ingress and egress until such time as further widening becomes possible after all other priorities have been met.
- Municipal Parking Lot (Facility Open)
Priority Five Streets
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This priority level is the final widening of all cul de sacs, alleys and dead ends. These are the most time consuming streets to plow and the smaller trucks normally assigned to these areas are ineffective in very heavy snowfalls. The final widening may be accomplished by large trucks, front]end loaders or a combination of the same.
- Municipal Parking Lot (Facility Closed)
Additional Information
To determine if you live on a snow route or exempt street and which regulation applies to you, contact the Public Works Department at 847-588-7900. You can read more about our program and policy at this link:
Snow and Ice Control Guidelines.