What Is a 'Snow Emergency' in Lower Saucon Township?

Question: What exactly is a "snow emergency" in Lower Saucon Township? 

Answer: It's not exactly the same thing as a snow emergency in the borough of Hellertown—or most boroughs and cities, for that matter.

To help clear up any confusion among residents and business owners, township officials issued the following statement about Lower Saucon snow emergencies on Friday, in the wake of the most recent winter storm to affect the area:

With several snow events already this season and the prospect for more before spring arrives, we would like to clarify what is a “snow emergency” in the township. Unlike other municipalities—generally boroughs and cities who need to declare a "snow emergency" to have parked cars moved to clear their streets of snow—given Lower Saucon Township’s rural character, our Public Works Department can clear all 87 miles of our township roads without any need of parking or driving restrictions on these roads. The declaration of an "emergency" by the Township Manager during some of these snow events is done solely to extend the driving hours of our snow plow operators so they can continue clearing and salting our roads and streets. There are several ordinance requirements that assist the township’s snow removal operations: 

• Ordinance No. 2011-11, which was recently adopted, does restrict parking in all 135 of the township’s cul-de-sacs and dead-end streets during the periods when Public Works is removing snow or ice. Please cooperate and move your car so we can clear these areas as quickly as possible.

• The Township Code (Section 140-17) requires residents with sidewalks to clear them of snow and ice within 36 hours of the snowfall.

• Snow that is pushed or plowed into the roadway can be deemed an unsafe obstruction and the police can issue a citation to the resident who could also be liable for the cost of removing the obstruction.

Our volunteer fire companies ask residents with fire hydrants near their properties to assist them by clearing ice and snow from around these hydrants. 

For further information, please review the Township Snow Removal Policy at www.lowersaucontownship.org/pdf/snowremoval.pdf.