Snow Emergencies

Township of Cranford

Snow Removal Operations Overview

Residents and businesses often have some questions as to how the Township and our partners at County DPW and NJ DOT clear the roadways.

• The Township typically initiates plowing operations after snow accumulations exceed three inches on paved surfaces. For lower-end snow accumulations, salting operations are conducted to improve road conditions.
• Roadways in town are generally prioritized in three categories for snow removal.
• Primary snow routes are the first priority, and they are designated as such because they are main roadways, or roads which provide primary access into interior residential neighborhoods, or roads that otherwise serve school buildings or other infrastructure. The primary goal is to maintain the ability of emergency services to access all neighborhoods of the Town during and shortly after the storm event. Some of the primary roadways are County Roadways, and are plowed by the County DPW. North Avenue is a State Highway, and is plowed by NJ Department of Transportation.
• Secondary Roadways are the roadways which are feeders to the Primary roadways. These serve mainly residential neighborhoods.
• Tertiary Roadways are generally dead-end streets and cul-de-sacs, and other roads which connect off of Secondary roads. These streets often require some specialized attention and equipment for snow removal.
• It could take several hours after snowfall ends for resources to clear your street. This depends on the timing of the storm, the extent of snowfall, and other operational considerations.
• The main priorities with the snow removal operation are keeping our Township staff safe, ensuring effective snow removal with minimal damage to property or equipment, and ensuring access for emergency vehicles throughout the Township.  

What can Residents do to help expedite snow removal operations?

• Remove cars from roadways, especially along snow routes.
• Do not throw snow onto the street.
• Clear out fire hydrants near your home
• Stay off roadways as much as possible.

Snow Emergency Route and Snow Ordinance:

In accordance with the provisions of § 410-30, no person shall park a vehicle upon either side of any of the streets or parts of streets thereof listed below, whenever snow has fallen and there is an accumulation of three inches or more of snow on any street or highway.

Snow Emergency Map can be found here: https://www.cranfordnj.org/sites/g/files/vyhlif436/f/uploads/cranford_snow_emergency_map.pdf

NWS:  Probabilistic Winter Weather Forecasts: Probabilistic Winter Weather Forecast