Why Greenwich's snow emergency outlasts the storm

The snow has stopped, but the Greenwich Snow Emergency remains in effect, keeping Town Hall and schools closed today. Here is why the "all clear" is taking longer than the storm itself:

The Scale of the Task: The Greenwich Department of Public Works (DPW) is responsible for 265 miles of roadway—enough to stretch from Greenwich to Washington, D.C. While the 23 miles of main arteries are cleared first, the emergency isn't lifted until the remaining 211 miles of local roads are fully addressed.

The "Two-Truck" Rule: Most residential roads are roughly 20 feet wide. A road isn't considered "clear" until it is wide enough for two 9-foot-wide fire trucks to pass each other. The emergency stays active until this curb-to-curb widening is finished.

Drainage & Ice: Crews must clear catch basins at the curb line. Without this, melting snow floods the streets and turns into black ice once temperatures drop at night.

The Route Cycle: A single plow circuit takes about four hours to complete. Final cleanup usually requires two full cycles after the snow stops to fix "windrows"—those ridges of snow pushed back into the street by private driveway plows.

Community Concerns. The local mood is a mix of logistical stress and safety worries. Residents with limited driveway space are stuck; with municipal lots at capacity and the street parking ban active, many have nowhere to legally park. On side streets, the concern is safety—neighbors worry that if the roads stay single-lane, emergency vehicles won't be able to reach them. This has led to plenty of "neighbor-shaming" online directed at those pushing private snow into public roads, which is the primary reason the final cleanup takes so long.

Between the Lines: In Greenwich, we stay calm, as we wait to carry on.