COMMUNITY PRESS RELEASE 

City of Oak Park Snow Event

Voluntary Removal of Cars from City Streets on Tuesday, December 26 Beginning 4 a.m.

December 25, 2017, Oak Park, Michigan - In response to the heavy snowfall on December 24, 2017, the City of Oak Park Department of Public Works crews have diligently worked through the evening and will continue to work throughout the day today, Monday, December 25 to clear the City's primary and secondary roadways.  The City Manager has decided not to declare a city-wide snow emergency at this time. However, the City Manager is requesting a volunteer removal of vehicles from all City streets on Tuesday, December 26, to allow the Department of Public Works to clear the residential and tertiary roads safely and efficiently and so City emergency vehicles can pass through, when necessary. 

The City provides emergency parking locations for the residents.  For a map of available snow emergency parking locations within Oak Park, visit http://bit.ly/2017SnowEmergencyMap. For more information on the City’s Snow Removal process, visit http://bit.ly/OPSnowRemoval.

If snowfall exceeds what is expected today, the City Manager may call for an emergency at a later point. Updates can be found on the City's website, social media channels, as well as eblasts, robocalls and text messages for those who have enrolled in emergency notifications.

About the Snow Removal Process

During snow emergencies the DPW prioritizes the roadways. In general, the City crews treat and plow roadways in the following order:

• Primary Roadways - Primary routes are the first priority for plowing and de-icing. Primary routes include major streets, snow emergency routes, around schools and medical facilities. These roadways include the I-696 service drives, Greenfield, Coolidge, 11 Mile Road, and Nine Mile Road.
• Secondary Roadways - Secondary routes are main and heavily traveled thoroughfares. These include streets like Oak Park Boulevard, Scotia, Rosewood, Church, Capital, Lincoln, and Northfield.
• Residential Intersections - Tertiary priority is made to residential intersections so that vehicles can properly stop and proceed safely at intersection roadways. Residential roadways are plowed when appropriate, typically when four or more inches of snow is present or other circumstances necessitate.

During snow events, the Public Works Department is in communication with the Department of Public Safety to address and respond to emergent and unsafe roadway conditions.

Please stay warm and safe. And, as always, we thank you for your cooperation.