What to Do About Berms
- Don’t shovel or blow snow back into the roadway.
- Shovel berm next to the bank on the side of the road beyond your driveway before it freezes or is packed down.
- Do not remove snow stakes - they are guides for snow plows.
- Place your trash cans in your driveway, behind the snow stakes.
- Mark circular or angled driveways to help snow plow operators avoid blocking them.
- Placer County utilizes “snow gates” on eight of its ten motor-graders to reduce (not eliminate) the size of driveway berms:
- Trucks mounted with plows do not have snow gates.
- Snow gates work best when there is less than 6 inches of snow on the road.
- Effectiveness decreases as snow depth increases.
- As a rule of thumb, snow gates will reduce the size of a driveway berm by one-half.
- Snow gates are easily damaged by heavy Sierra snow.
- If damaged, you may see the grader continue to operate with the plow stuck in the up position. We do this to:
- Prevent further damage to the snow gate
- Prevent the possibility of hydraulic oil leaks
- Prevent damage to the grader that would not allow it to continue plowing
Watch our helpful video for more information on snow berms.
