Snow Plowing
The goal of the Snow and Ice Control Program is to maintain pavement surfaces on Village owned and maintained streets. Maintenance will be accomplished with resources available and assigned, with efforts always focused on safety and ability of emergency vehicles to traverse the Village during winter storm events. After an event ends, the goal will be to clear streets "curb to curb" as soon as possible, with an understanding that differing levels of snow and ice accumulation will affect overall maintenance time. With the staff and route reductions in 2020-21, an average goal time will be 12 hours after the end of an event. Public Works will use this goal as a marker to improve service under the new resource limitations.
Damaged Mailboxes: During snow removal efforts, mailboxes may unfortunately be damaged or even knocked down by snow plows - but there is a way to address this issue. If the damage was caused by a direct strike by Buffalo Grove Public Works, the Department will repair or replace mailboxes and support posts that have been damaged.
The Department does not complete repairs caused by thrown snow, called windrow. Additionally, no repairs or replacements will be completed on mailboxes or support posts that have been improperly installed. Mailbox installation guidelines and diagrams can be obtained at the Public Service Center upon request by calling 847-459-2545. Please visit this link for more information and to report a mailbox that was damaged or knocked down.
Different areas of the Village may receive snow removal services from alternative units of government, such as Lake County, Cook County, or the Illinois Department of Transportation, among others.
Snow Build-Up at the End of Driveways: Due to accumulated snowfall, residents may find a build-up of snow at the ends of their driveways. While this may create a nuisance, there are reasons why this occurs. All streets are plowed to create drivable lanes for commuters/emergency equipment, and then plowed again to the curbs, which allows drainage to run down the curb and not in the street once melting begins or rain follows. If snow is not pushed all the way to the curb, melting snow and rain could pose a re-freezing issue, if or when temperatures drop below freezing.
Snow is also plowed all the way to the curb by Public Works to prevent residents from having to shovel/snow blow beyond the curb and into the street to create access to their driveways. Residents are always encouraged to try and remove the freshly plowed snow before re-freezing occurs and the deposits turn into ice or hard packed snow. Although shoveling/snow blowing smaller piles ultimately requires the same amount of removal as one large clean-up would, performing the activity multiple times on smaller, lighter, and less frozen piles is much easier on equipment and the human body. Questions can be directed to Public Works at 847-459-2545.
It is important to note that outside agencies maintain most major thoroughfares. Please direct inquires to the agency responsible for maintenance at the following numbers.
If you don't know which agency maintains a given road, visit the Snow and Ice Control map in our Community Portal. You can enter your address, or a nearby location, to discover which agency controls snow and ice activities for individual roads.
Click here for our 2022-2023 Snow and Ice Control Plan and our Winter Season Plow Routes.
Damaged Mailboxes: During snow removal efforts, mailboxes may unfortunately be damaged or even knocked down by snow plows - but there is a way to address this issue. If the damage was caused by a direct strike by Buffalo Grove Public Works, the Department will repair or replace mailboxes and support posts that have been damaged.
The Department does not complete repairs caused by thrown snow, called windrow. Additionally, no repairs or replacements will be completed on mailboxes or support posts that have been improperly installed. Mailbox installation guidelines and diagrams can be obtained at the Public Service Center upon request by calling 847-459-2545. Please visit this link for more information and to report a mailbox that was damaged or knocked down.
Different areas of the Village may receive snow removal services from alternative units of government, such as Lake County, Cook County, or the Illinois Department of Transportation, among others.
Snow Build-Up at the End of Driveways: Due to accumulated snowfall, residents may find a build-up of snow at the ends of their driveways. While this may create a nuisance, there are reasons why this occurs. All streets are plowed to create drivable lanes for commuters/emergency equipment, and then plowed again to the curbs, which allows drainage to run down the curb and not in the street once melting begins or rain follows. If snow is not pushed all the way to the curb, melting snow and rain could pose a re-freezing issue, if or when temperatures drop below freezing.
Snow is also plowed all the way to the curb by Public Works to prevent residents from having to shovel/snow blow beyond the curb and into the street to create access to their driveways. Residents are always encouraged to try and remove the freshly plowed snow before re-freezing occurs and the deposits turn into ice or hard packed snow. Although shoveling/snow blowing smaller piles ultimately requires the same amount of removal as one large clean-up would, performing the activity multiple times on smaller, lighter, and less frozen piles is much easier on equipment and the human body. Questions can be directed to Public Works at 847-459-2545.
It is important to note that outside agencies maintain most major thoroughfares. Please direct inquires to the agency responsible for maintenance at the following numbers.
If you don't know which agency maintains a given road, visit the Snow and Ice Control map in our Community Portal. You can enter your address, or a nearby location, to discover which agency controls snow and ice activities for individual roads.
Snow and Ice Control Procedure
Click here for our 2022-2023 Snow and Ice Control Plan and our Winter Season Plow Routes.
Frequently Asked Questions
During normal business hours, Monday through Friday: 7:00 am – 3:30 pm call (847) 459-2545. After hours, weekends, and on holiday call the non-emergency Police number at (847) 459-2560.
Prior to winter storm events, Public Works personnel will be completing anti-icing pretreatment to our roads throughout the community. Anti-icing is an effective, proactive first step towards drivable roads during storm events. The material that is put down helps melt falling snow and prevents the bond between the road and snow from forming. This allows the plow the ability to effectively reach the pavement during plowing operations and eliminates hard-packed snow from remaining on the street.
This is an unavoidable inconvenience. During periods of snow, plows will clear the roads moving from the center of the street, or the crown, towards the outside of the street where the curb is located. Plowing activities will continue until all snow has been removed from the road. During long snow events, this clearing may result in multiple plowing passes from the middle of the road all the way to the curb leading to large deposits of snow along the road’s edge and driveway aprons.
No. This activity is prevented by Village ordinance and is subject to a fine. In addition, residents who deposit snow into the road from their driveway or sidewalk assume liability in the case of an accident or injury resulting from this act. Residents are encouraged to shovel or snow-blow driveway snow in the downstream, or the direction the plow is headed, in order to reduce the amount of snow that can be pushed into your driveway.
Any time when Village roads are being plowed is the time to move your vehicle. The Village parking restrictions are clearly marked on posted signs throughout each neighborhood. In addition to the restrictions outlined on the posted signs, parking restrictions go into effect as soon as plowing operations have started. Residents are strongly encouraged to move vehicles off of the streets as soon as winter weather arrives, as the equipment often must pass between vehicles that are parked legally on the street. This creates potential hazards for the winter equipment and slows down the overall response of the winter maintenance program.
The costs of such a program make it prohibitive. Therefore, it is expected that residents remove snow from their own driveways, aprons, and sidewalks adjacent to their property so that pedestrians are not forced to walk in the street.
Garbage collection takes place throughout the community on a variety of different days of the week. During winter maintenance activities, residents are strongly encouraged to place, their garbage cans and recycle cans back away from the curb, and inside the apron of the driveways so that blowing snow coming off the plow doesn’t knock the cans over and create the need for cleanup. Remember, the closer the cans are placed to the curb, the greater the likelihood that they will be knocked over during plowing operations. Furthermore, never place cans in the street during winter maintenance operations. The focus for our crew members is to remove snow from the road, not make sure garbage cans are in the correct location.
The Public Works Department repairs/restores damage to parkways in the spring following the end of the winter season. Damage to your parkway should be reported to the Public Works Department as soon as it is identified. The Department repairs/replaces mailboxes and mailbox support posts that have been damaged by a direct strike from the plow or plow vehicle. The Public Works Department does not complete repairs caused by thrown snow. When purchasing your mailbox, sturdiness should be a consideration so that it can resist the force and weight of snow caused by plows. No repairs or replacements will be completed on mailboxes or mailbox support posts that have been improperly installed. Mailbox installation guidelines and diagrams can be obtained at the Public Service Center upon request.
No. There are many roads throughout Buffalo Grove that are maintained by agencies other than Buffalo Grove Public Works. State roads and County roads are maintained by the jurisdictional agency. Problems or issues on these roads should be reported directly to the jurisdictional agency.
Please visit our online maps at the Community Portal, enter your address, and choose the Snow and Ice Removal map under the Map Gallery to see what local agencies plow snow in your area.
Please visit our online maps at the Community Portal, enter your address, and choose the Snow and Ice Removal map under the Map Gallery to see what local agencies plow snow in your area.