HELENA — After the recent snowfall from this past weekend, many found their walks to work or to buy last-minute presents much easier due to cleared sidewalks. The City of Helena wants to remind folks of the snow code that requires residents to shovel or plow the walkways that surround their homes.
The City of Helena’s snow code requires residents to shovel snow off sidewalks and parts of walkways or driveways that are used by the public that are in front of or abutting their residence. Residents on Emergency Snow Routes are also required to remove cars when 2” or more of snow are forecasted for snowplows to do their work effectively on every street.
The city’s snow code was put in place to better assist snowplow drivers and make walking throughout town easier and safer.
“For the most part it's safety, yeah. When it comes to sidewalks right, if you don't get to the snow relatively quickly, you know, it becomes, if it melts a little bit down it becomes icy right and then becomes a slip hazard. I mean, we don't want that. So, there are a lot of people that do walk around town, right, especially where there are sidewalks and so and we want to make sure that it's safe for people to get around,” says Chris Couey, Deputy Director of Transportation for the City of Helena.
Alleys are generally not plowed, although they may be plowed when necessary for garbage collection.
Residents are also reminded not to shovel snow from sidewalks or driveways into the street, which is prohibited in the city.
For more information, the snow code can be found online at https://www.helenamt.gov/know-the-code. Here you can also find the snow clock which gives residents a countdown as to when their portion of the snow clearing should be done by.
