Chapter 8.60
SNOW ALERTS AND VEHICLE REMOVAL FROM CITY STREETS
Sections:
8.60.030 Vehicle prohibitions during snow alert.
8.60.040 Stopped, parked, or left standing vehicles – Removal by police authorized.
8.60.050 Stopped, parked, or left standing vehicles – Leaving in roadway prohibited.
8.60.010 Snow alert.
A snow alert may be declared by the public works director or designee in the event that snow or ice accumulates or is forecasted to accumulate within city limits and when, in the sole discretion of the public works director or designee, vehicles stopped, parked, or left standing on primary snow routes would impede the proper and efficient removal of snow and/or application of deicing or traction materials to roadway surfaces. A snow alert shall be distributed by the city’s public information officer.
(Ord. No. 19-875, § 4, 10-1-19.)
8.60.020 Primary snow routes.
The purpose of designating primary snow routes is to allow the city to perform unimpeded snow and ice removal operations during and following the declaration of a snow alert. All primary snow routes shall be designated and posted on the city’s website and may be revised as deemed necessary by the public works director. Primary snow routes shall include the entire width of the public right-of-way, which includes, but is not limited to, any portion of the primary snow route primarily used for the movement of vehicles or pedestrian traffic (e.g., the travelway and any abutting shoulder). Any snow alert must include a reference to where the primary snow routes can be found.
(Ord. No. 19-875, § 4, 10-1-19.)
8.60.030 Vehicle prohibitions during snow alert.
Vehicles stopped, parked, or left standing upon any roadways designated as primary snow routes shall be prohibited from the time a snow alert goes into effect until the snow alert is terminated by the public works director or designee.
(Ord. No. 19-875, § 4, 10-1-19.)
8.60.040 Stopped, parked, or left standing vehicles – Removal by police authorized.
(1) During a declared snow alert, members of the Federal Way police department are authorized to remove, or have removed, any vehicle from primary snow routes to a place of safety when any part of the vehicle is stopped, parked, or left standing on any portion of a primary snow route during a snow alert. For the purposes of this section, a place of safety includes the business location of a registered tow truck operator.
(2) Whenever a member of the police department removes, or has removed, a vehicle from a primary snow route as authorized in this chapter, the notice requirements of Chapter 46.55 RCW shall apply.
(3) This section shall be supplemental and in addition to any other provisions of law granting members of the police department authority to remove motor vehicles.
(Ord. No. 19-875, § 4, 10-1-19.)
8.60.050 Stopped, parked, or left standing vehicles – Leaving in roadway prohibited.
During a declared snow alert, whenever a vehicle becomes stopped, parked, or left standing for any reason, whether or not in violation of this chapter, within any travelway on any city street on which there is a covering of snow, sleet, or ice, the person operating such vehicle shall take immediate action to have the vehicle towed or removed from the roadway. No person shall stop, park, or leave standing a vehicle in the roadway of a street, regardless of whether the person indicates that the vehicle is stalled, except for the purpose of securing assistance during the actual time necessary to go to a nearby place to gain assistance and return without delay. Vehicles that are parked entirely within designated parking areas on public streets not classified as a primary snow route are exempt from this section.
(Ord. No. 19-875, § 4, 10-1-19.)