Winter Snow Removal 2024-2025

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ICE MELT IS NOW ON SALE FOR $18 PER BAG. ADP SOURCES OUR ICE MELT FROM ALASKA MILL & FEED, A LOCAL EMPLOYEE-OWNED COMPANY THAT SUPPLIES US WITH A NON-TOXIC AND ENVIRONMENTALLY-FRIENDLY FORMULA.

CALL (907) 277-0141 OR (907) 279-5650 TO PURCHASE YOUR BAG OF ICE MELT NOW. SPEEDY DELIVERY TO CUSTOMERS WITHIN THE DOWNTOWN IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT IS ASSURED.

ADP has met with Municipality of Anchorage Street Maintenance, Municipality of Anchorage ROW, People Mover, and EasyPark to plan for snow removal from public spaces downtown this winter. Roles and responsibilities, our snow clearing plan, how we’ll be communicating updates to our members and the public, and how you can reach us are described below.

Please keep in mind that there are 30+ miles of sidewalk within the Downtown Improvement District, and ADP generally has around 12 full time staff working to remove snow. We strive to provide the best services possible, and we appreciate your understanding and cooperation. Please see below for how you can help keep downtown clean and safe this winter. 

How We’ll Keep You Informed:

• For small snow events (less than 6” of snow accumulation, with plowing and hauling downtown taking place over a single night), ADP will put the plan below into action. We will not send out any additional notifications. If you have questions, please contact us (see below).
  
• For larger snow events (more than 6” of snow accumulation), we’ll post on our Facebook and Instagram pages after we learn which streets Street Maintenance plans on plowing and hauling that night. We’ll continue providing daily updates until all downtown streets are plowed and hauled.
• Have questions? Please reach out to our Membership Coordinator, Jordan McCulley, at jmcculley@anchoragedowntown.org or (907) 279-5620. You can also call our shop or main line for status updates or to request services. 

Roles and Responsibilities

• Sidewalks: According to AMC 24.80.090, occupants of land adjacent to Municipal sidewalks are responsible for removing snow and ice from the sidewalks and accessible parking spaces located in front of their properties/businesses. Within the Downtown Improvement District, ADP assists property owners with this service.
• Streets: The Municipality’s Street Maintenance Department plows and hauls snow within the Downtown Improvement District, from curb to curb. This includes snow moved from sidewalks onto the street, snow that is in street parking spaces, and snow that is in the alleys. Please note that while the State of Alaska owns and manages I and L St., 5th and 6th Ave., and Gambell and Ingra downtown (and provides summer mainteannce), all winter maintenance and snow removal on those roads is performed by the Municipality. Please follow the above link to learn about when a plow out is declared and prioritization of streets and sidewalks.
• Street Parking and Garages: EasyPark manages the street parking meters, and many parking lots and garages downtown. EasyPark or their designated contractors clear snow from garages and off-street parking lots, as well as from the non-sidewalk portions of the downtown transit center. ADP clears snow around the meters located on the sidewalks (if time allows) and Municipal Street Maintenance clears the on-street parking spaces when they plow and haul a street. 
• Alleys: Municipal Street Maintenance plows and hauls snow from downtown alleys.
• Private Properties: Some property owners within downtown choose to hire private contractors to plow and haul snow from their properties, parking lots, or sidewalks. All private contractors are responsible for hauling away snow that they have plowed – they cannot deposit this snow into the sidewalk or street for ADP or Street Maintenance to move. If snow is deposited into the sidewalk by a contractor, this may result in a fine from ROW, and ADP will not be able to clear that sidewalk.

Winter 2024-2025 Sidewalk Snow Removal Plan

See below for maps of ADP’s snow removal routes. ADP assigns staff and equipment to each of these routes. In general, ADP completes snow removal during our regular winter hours (8AM to 4PM, Monday to Friday). ADP’s shovel crew (generally 4-5 people) follows along these routes after the equipment has been used to complete detail work with hand shovels or a snowblower. On rare occasions during heavy snowfalls, ADP will bring staff in on overtime shifts on weekends. Please note that these routes may change due to Street Maintenance’s priorities or heavy snow events. For example, in a heavy snow event, if Street Maintenance informs ADP that they plan to plow and haul east-west streets one night and north-south streets on the second night, ADP would follow that plan for sidewalks as well.

• Snowfalls between 1″-3.5″: Municipal Street Maintenance generally does not plow and haul downtown streets until 4” of snowfall has been recorded. For snowfalls less than 4”, ADP will clear paths to allow for pedestrians to easily access their destinations downtown, but will not move snow onto the street until we are informed that Street Maintenance will be coming through downtown. 
• Snowfalls between 4″-6″: In general, for snowfalls of 6” or less, ADP and Street Maintenance are able to clear all downtown sidewalks and streets in one night. If Municipal Street Maintenance informs ADP that they plan to plow and haul all of downtown in one night, ADP will then clear all sidewalks that day, for removal that night. 
• Snowfalls between 6″-10″: Depending on how wet and dense snow is for larger snowfall events, ADP and Municipal Street Maintenance may need to plow and haul downtown streets and sidewalks over multiple days. In this case, Municipal Street Maintenance will communicate their plan to ADP, and ADP will prioritize removing snow from sidewalks on the streets that Municipal Street Maintenance will plow and haul that night.
• Extremely high volume snowfalls: When snow accumulation exceeds 10”, some of ADP’s equipment (four wheelers) isn’t usable. ADP has to rent additional equipment, and snow removal takes much longer. In general, for very heavy snowfalls, both ADP and Municipal Street Maintenance may take multiple days to clear downtown streets and sidewalks. ADP will post daily updates as we receive information from Municipal Street Maintenance and complete snow removal.

What We Need Your Help With

Ice Removal: Business owners are in the best position to know if their sidewalks are too icy! ADP sells ice melt with free delivery included, for downtown business and property owners to treat ice buildup next to their properties. Between snow events, ADP’s staff treats and removes ice buildup on downtown sidewalks. In general, ADP uses non-toxic and environmentally-friendly ice melt throughout the winter. In extreme cases of ice buildup and cold temperatures, ADP will use a sand and ice melt mixture to create traction. 

Detail Work: To remove all snow from around parking meters, sign poles, street tree cells, etc., ADP staff has to hand shovel that snow, as our equipment cannot navigate around small objects in the sidewalks. This detail work takes lower priority to clearing paths and the majority of the sidewalk using snow removal equipment, and is only performed if staff capacity allows. Business and property owners are encouraged to assist with removing snow around parking meters and objects in the sidewalk.