Snow & Ice

Clearing Your Walks

Oversight

Following a snowfall, Mt. Lebanon residents, property owners and businesses are reminded that snow and ice must be removed from sidewalks adjacent to their property within 24 hours after the end of the snowfall so they will be clear and safe for pedestrian traffic. (Businesses have four hours to clear sidewalks.) If snow continues to fall, the sidewalks must be cleared and kept open for passage.

Blowing or dumping snow into the street is a violation of the municipal code. Violating homeowners are liable in case of an accident. Public works offers this hint regarding driveway snow:

Stand facing your house and shovel snow to the left of your driveway.

This prevents the snowplow from returning your freshly shoveled snow to your driveway.

If you would like to report an unshoveled sidewalk, please call the police department at 9-1-1.

Snow Angels matches seniors with helpers

Clear sidewalks are an important way to keep everyone safe after a snow or ice event, but we know Mt. Lebanon has some vulnerable residents who need help. Homebound seniors can be matched with a volunteer through Mt. Lebanon's Snow Angels program. Here's how it works:

If you are in need of having your sidewalks shoveled, fill out this form: If there is a volunteer in your area, we'll connect you with that person.

If you are able to help your neighbors in need by shoveling sidewalks, fill out this form. Please see age requirements and rules on the form.

If you know a senior without internet access, you can have them call program director Greg Wharton at 412-343-7032 for assistance.

Municipal Winter Street Maintenance

Snow and Ice Response

The Mt. Lebanon Public Works Department is responsible for maintaining our streets during the winter. The department takes care of approximately 227 lane miles—We get that figure by accounting for each drivable lane on all our roads. Public works uses a combination of plowing and applying deicing chemicals to keep the network of roads safe for residents and visitors.

Whenever Mt. Lebanon has frozen precipitation, the department responds with nine trucks to clear snow and ice from all streets within our borders. We have nine snow routes organized by terrain such as hills, traffic volume, proximity to schools and St. Clair Hospital and the surface material of the street (brick streets are done earlier because they get slippery quickly.) Mt. Lebanon also has an agreement with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and Allegheny County to maintain state and county roads in the municipality. Mt. Lebanon is reimbursed for that service.

During a snow or ice response, our crews use three trucks on main roads and six smaller, four-wheel-drive trucks on residential routes. The highest priority streets are done first, such as the routes to schools and the hospital. Each of the nine routes has about 24 lane miles. During an intense storm, operators may focus on high priority routes so that emergency vehicles can respond to all areas of the community.

Click here for a map of the snow routes.

Larger trucks can haul about eight tons of salt and smaller trucks carry four tons. Each truck will need to refill once in the middle of the route to complete it during the average response. It takes about four hours to complete the routes if staff does not need to plow.

What if it continues to snow? Crews begin their routes all over again.

Have additional questions? Read the FAQ.