When it snows, Seattle Transportation equipment is busy 24-hours a day clearing and sanding major arterial streets. Our 18 snow plows with sanders must take care of 1,524 lane miles of arterial streets. Once the snow stops and we are comfortable with the condition of the arterial streets, we can take care of residential streets on a request-basis. However, many residential streets are too narrow for our plows to work in them safely. When you consider the number of driveways in Seattle, it would cost a lot more and take a great deal more equipment and people to plow driveways.
Driveways are their responsibility of the individual property owner.
Home and property owners are responsible for clearing the sidewalks next to their property. Unfortunately, Seattle Transportation does not have the resources to clear sidewalks. The dispatchers are connected by telephone and fax lines. We share information on weather forecasts, current conditions, and our levels of activity at any given time. Seattle Transportation has an agreement with several big local contractors to utilize their services in the event of a very severe storm.