College Park Snow Policies and Preparedness Tips

With several inches of snow expected across the region between Tuesday night and Thursday morning, area residents are making preparations for the storm.

Below, find a rundown of winter weather policies and tips from the City of College Park and Prince George's County.

PLOWING & PARKING

College Park: Public Works crews plow and salt College Park streets and parking lots to clear snow and ice. Things you can do to help include:

• Move parked cars off the street so the snow plows can clear snow to the curb.
• If off-street parking is not available during predicted snowstorms, park on the even side of the road (Exception: if your address is odd-numbered and the area across from your house is undeveloped, park on the odd side of the street.)
• Crews work around the clock during snow emergencies to clear the streets. Your patience is appreciated during these times.

Prince George's County: Crews first focus services on primary roadways to allow for use by emergency vehicles. Approximately 12 hours after a snowfall has stopped, crews will begin to focus on residential roadways. Please allow crews the 12-hour timeframe to get into and treat residential roadways before calling the County’s Snow Information Center at 301.350.0500 or CountyClick at 311 to report concerns about roadway conditions. Citizens also may report roadway concerns via the Prince George's County Website at www.princegeorgescountymd.gov. Click on the snowflake at the top of the page to access the Snow Information site.    

Assisting in snow removal efforts will be more than 1,000 members of DPW&T's innovative Community Partnering Program. Partners report on roadway conditions within communities, which help crews to pinpoint and address concerns.   

Find more information on snow removal here.

SIDEWALKS

College Park: Property owners, occupants and merchants are reminded of the City requirement to remove accumulated snow and ice from all walkways, driveways, parking lots and other areas used by pedestrians or automobiles. The owner or occupant of any property that abuts the sidewalk must clean public sidewalks of ice, sleet and snow for their full width. It is required that snow and ice be removed within the first eight (8) hours of daylight after snowfall stops. These requirements are listed under City Code Sections 157-6(B) (10) and 141-5(A).

Though City code enforcement officers may not cite all such violations immediately after a storm, failure to comply with this regulation in a timely manner could be used as evidence by anyone injured in a fall on or adjacent to your property if you are sued for such injuries.

Be prepared! Keep snow shovels and salt ready for the next storm, and plan to have help available if necessary to make your walkway safe as soon as the snow stops falling.

REFUSE COLLECTION

College Park: Always plan to set your refuse and recycling carts out for your regularly scheduled day during snow events. Refuse and recycling collections may occur later in the day than normal, but you should not expect collections to be delayed until the following day

STORM SAFETY

Prince George's County: As in all inclement weather conditions, citizens and residents are encouraged not to drive for their own safety, as well as that of emergency crews.  Please make sure essential supplies, including food, medicine, batteries for flashlights, etc., are purchased prior to the start of the snowfall.  Should drivers find it necessary to be on roadways, allow extra travel time, use extreme caution and yield to emergency and snow plow vehicles.