Snow Removal and Ice Control

Snowplowing and ice control on county roads within the City of Lakeville is the responsibility of Dakota County - download their map of county roads and highways (PDF).

Dakota County has 1,100 lane miles of paved roads and plow with 26 tandems, on 13 plow routes. There are times when three blades will also be on those roads.

The Highway Manager/Maintenance Operations will make decisions concerning scheduling and the procedures to be followed for snow and ice removal events. Scheduling and the procedures to be followed will be based upon consideration of the following factors: weather reports, type of precipitation, air temperature, time of year, road surface temperature, time of day, and also past experience in dealing with snow and ice removal.

The County will have available snow and ice removal equipment on the roadways generally by 3 a.m. after an overnight snow or ice even and will have all the lane miles of paved roadway attended to for snow and ice removal at least once by 8 a.m. In addition, the Cedar Avenue Transitway will be attended to for snow and ice by 5 a.m. after an overnight snow or ice event. They will have all available snow and ice removal equipment deployed for snow or ice removal until 5 p.m. following a previous overnight and continual daytime snow or ice event. They will deploy an average of three tandem snowplows between 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. following a previous overnight and continual daytime snow or ice event, if conditions warrant.

When there is an accumulation of approximately two or more inches of snow, plowing will begin to keep streets passable. Plowing will follow the annually prepared snow removal and ice control route map (PDF). Although, if icy or rapidly accumulating snow conditions exist, operations may start earlier at the discretion of the Director of Public Works and the Streets Superintendent.

To see locations of plows in real time during a snow event, check out our interactive snowplow map.

For more information on snow removal and ice control on City streets, download our policy (PDF).

The City plows pedestrian sidewalks and trails according to the pedestrian/trail snow removal route map (PDF). 

Pushing snow onto sidewalks is an unfortunate consequence of plowing any street, so we ask for your patience with getting certain City sidewalks plowed.

Residents are required to clear sidewalks abutting their property so pedestrians are able to walk safely on these sidewalks. Property owners must remove snow or ice from sidewalks within 48 hours after the last snow or ice has been deposited. Keep in mind, that for long events, snow must be continually removed within 48 hours of the last snowfall. For more information, see City Ordinance 7-3-8.

Snow that accumulates in the downtown area may need to be manually removed. If there is more than 12 inches of snow accumulation in piles, Public Works will schedule a time to remove the piles by pushing the snow out to the street and using snow blowers to load it into trucks.

This typically happens during nighttime hours for pedestrian and vehicle safety. Notifications of this event are placed on the City's social media platforms, as well as on two large digital signs that alert drivers of the ongoing operations on either end of the downtown area.

Inspect your mailbox and post to make sure they are able to survive our Minnesota winters, keeping in mind that snow will be pushed up to them by snowplows that are clearing your street. Is the mailbox secure? Does it lean or extend into the street? Does it have cracks or is it rotting? Download our mailbox installation guidelines (PDF) for information on how to properly install a mailbox.

If one of our snowplows hits your mailbox, it is our responsibility to replace it or reimburse you up to $125 to replace it yourself (within six months of the damage). However, we cannot be responsible for repairs to any mailboxes, posts or paper delivery boxes that are not installed or constructed properly. For more information, download our Mailbox Replacement Policy (PDF).

If your mailbox has been damaged by one of our snowplows, send us an email or call us at 952-985-2710.