(a)   The City of Hillsboro’s Snow & Ice Control Plan (Plan) is designed to organize reasonable, cost effective maintenance efforts during periods of snow or ice. The city’s streets are ranked by priority with streets serving schools and hospitals receiving attention first. This assures each residential area is in close proximity to a cleared street and that emergency services can be provided.

(b)   The primary purpose of the Plan is to organize safe travel ways during snowstorms. Some inconvenience may be caused to citizens as snow is moved out of the streets and into the gutters. In certain areas, snow may be plowed onto sidewalks or into driveways. A copy of the Plan is available to citizens that are interested in how this service is conducted.

(c)   Please note that certain business owners have 24 hours after the storm stops to shovel their sidewalk areas; by waiting to clear sidewalks until the storm is over and the streets have been plowed, the problem of having to repeatedly shovel walks is minimized. Further, all property owners are encouraged to keep their portion of the public sidewalks clear of ice and snow to provide safe travel to school children and other patrons.

(d)   City crews put forth maximum effort during snowstorms, with prolonged or repeat storms becoming very tiring to the operators running the snow removal equipment. Equipment breakdowns, staffing availability and abrupt changes in the weather each can have drastic effects for the snow removal efforts. These issues must be dealt with on an individual basis during each storm. In order to make the Plan effective, it requires the cooperation of many people including the Street Department, the Police Department, vendors, contractors and; most importantly, the citizens of the city.

(Ord. 1159, Art. 1; Code 2022)

The primary purpose of the Plan is to organize snow and ice removal efforts so that safe travel routes are available during snowstorms. The Plan identifies Hillsboro’s main and secondary streets, streets that serve schools and hospitals and streets that provide easy access from residential areas to arterial and collector streets. The Plan also identifies the order in which these streets are cleared during snowstorms. Most residential streets are not cleared unless there is a large enough accumulation of snow and conditions exist which prevent residents from getting to arterial and collector streets.

(Ord. 1159, Art. 2; Code 2022)

The Chief of Police shall have the authority to declare a condition of emergency to exist with respect to removal of snow from City streets and further limiting the times of parking upon such streets. This declaration shall not be dictated by measurable snow quantity but shall be based upon the actual condition of City streets with respect to the potential need for the movement of police, fire, EMS and other official vehicles. Citizens and patrons of the City shall be notified of this condition of emergency by dissemination of information by City staff, personal contact, and visible efforts of City crews to remove snow and ice.

(Ord. 1159, Art. 2; Code 2022)

Once the Chief of Police determines that a condition of emergency exists with respect to removal of snow from City Streets and the following snow routes shall be cleared and shall remain open and the following restrictions shall apply:

(a)   That parking upon the following listed streets in the City of Hillsboro, Kansas shall be prohibited from the hour of 7:00 p.m. to the hour of 8:00 a.m. of each day until the emergency regulation is lifted.

(North-South) Ash Street

Main Street

Washington Street

Adams Street

(East-West) Old Hwy 56

D Street

Grand Street

Third Street.

(b)   That parking upon all other streets in the City of Hillsboro at any time of day and night be prohibited, during times of active removal of ice and snow by city crews, until the emergency regulation is lifted.

(c)   That any damage caused by City equipment to vehicles parked in violation of this regulation or that any damage or expenses incurred to vehicles requiring tow away, as a result of snow removal work, shall be the responsibility of the owner or operator thereof and not at the expense or responsibility of the City of Hillsboro, Kansas.

(d)   No person shall willfully fail or refuse to comply with any lawful order of direction of any City police officer respecting the removal of an automobile owned or operated by such person, for purpose of accomplishing snow removal, and such refusal or failure to comply with such order shall be punishable by a fine of up to $500.00.

(Ord. 1159, Art. 1; Code 2022)

The priorities established are designed to allow the opening of major streets that carry the largest volume of traffic or that serve vital facilities first, and then open local streets that feed into the major streets. This will permit the greatest traffic flow in the shortest time. The design of operations listed below is to be followed exactly as outlined unless they are changed by order of the Mayor, City Administrator, or the Chief of Police.

(a)   Proceed from city shops south on Adams to Grand;

(b)   Turn west on Grand, proceed to Washington, north one block to First; left to Main, Main and Grand through business district;

(c)   Proceed to police station;

(d)   From police station to hospital to Ash Street;

(e)   Blade “D” from west city limits to east city limits;

(6)   Proceed to Adams north to First, one block east to Wilson, south to “A” Street past the elementary school;

(7)   From elementary school, proceed to Hillsboro Heights and open streets;

(8)   The remaining side streets, Willow Glen and Carriage Hills will be bladed as time permits.

(Ord. 1159, Art. 2; Code 2022)

(a)   For purposes of this section, the business district subject to this regulation shall be defined as any identifiable business, school, church, or not for profit organization, which abuts a public sidewalk.

(b)   The specific regulation is that within twenty-four hours after any snow or ice stops falling on a public sidewalk abutting a business district property, it is the duty of each owner, and if the property be occupied by a tenant then it is also made the duty of the tenant, to clean off and remove from the sidewalk in front of his/her property or in front of the property occupied by him/her as a tenant, as the case may be, all accumulations of ice and snow. If such owner or occupant shall fail to remove such ice or snow within the effective time period, then the same may be removed by the proper corporate authority of the City, and an account of the cost of such removal shall be taken and by the Governing Body levied as a special assessment against each respective piece of property. Further, in case of a failure on the part of said owner or occupant to so remove such accumulations of ice or snow, such owner or occupant shall be deemed guilty of an unclassified misdemeanor.

(c)   Under this section, snow or ice has not “stopped falling” if additional snow or ice falls within four hours.

(d)   The obligations stated above do not apply to the city park, golf course, or other recreational property, nor do those obligations apply to a sidewalk from which the city regularly removes snow and ice.

(e)   The City intends, by this section, to create legally enforceable duties for the benefit of persons lawfully using sidewalks, subject to applicable rules of law, including comparative negligence and other civil defenses, and breach of these duties may support civil recovery by injured persons lawfully using public sidewalks from each violator, jointly and severally, for damages the violation proximately causes.

(Ord. 1159, Art. 2; Code 2022)