Colorado's Snow Removal Law
Snow Removal from Your Private Property
It's against the law for property owners and renters, and private snow-removal operators to deposit snow on or next to a public highway.
Colorado law (see statute 43-5-301 below) and many local ordinances prohibit the plowing, blowing, shoveling or other placement of snow onto public roadways—including the ditch and right-of-way (ROW) area along the roadside. Pushing snow on public roadways increase hazards with each snowstorm, as snow piles or berms become larger, freeze and are more difficult to manage throughout the winter.
Violations
Violations are considered misdemeanors, but civil penalties also apply if the placement of snow creates a hazard, such as Penalties
- slippery areas;
- frozen ruts or bumps that can contribute to a motor vehicle or pedestrian crash;
- drainage problems;
- drifting;
- sight obstructions; and
- hindered accessibility.
Pay special attention to keep crosswalks, intersections, entrances, and exits clean and unobstructed. The civil liability can extend to both the property owner and the person who placed the snow in the roadway or right of way (ROW).
Your Responsibility
- Many local laws require residents to clear sidewalks within 24 hours after a snowstorm to allow safe use by pedestrians. This is particularly important along school pedestrian routes to prevent children from having to walk in the street.
- Owners must place snow from their sidewalks onto their front yard or other areas of their own property, and not into the street. This practice reduces the number of icy areas on streets and ensures proper drainage flow into the storm sewer once snow melts.
Snowplows
CDOT snowplow operations take place during and after a snowstorm. Broad clearing of snow is often necessary to widen roads to ensure that ice and snow melts from the pavement surface. This may take place up to a few days after the event, depending upon the severity of the storm and weather conditions.
Unfortunately, subsequent CDOT operations may push snow back onto sidewalks and driveways. Clear the area of your property next to your driveway and near the roadway to give plows a place to push snow and help reduce the chance of a snow berm being created across your driveway.
COLORADO REVISED STATUTE 43-5-301. Obstructing highway – penalty
No person or corporation shall erect any fence, house, or other structure, or dig pits or holes in or upon any highway, or place thereon or cause or allow to be placed thereon any stones, timber, or trees or any obstruction whatsoever.
No person or corporation shall tear down, burn, or otherwise damage any bridge of any highway, or cause wastewater or the water from any ditch, road, drain, flume, agricultural crop sprinkler system, or other source to flow or fall upon any road or highway so as to damage the same or to cause a hazard to vehicular traffic.
Any person or corporation so offending is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not less than ten dollars nor more than three hundred dollars and shall also be liable to any person, unit of government, or corporation in a civil action for any damages resulting therefrom.
Upon a third conviction therefor, the offender shall be punished by a fine of not less than ten dollars nor more than three hundred dollars or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than three days and shall also be liable to any person, unit of government, or corporation in a civil action for any damages resulting therefrom. Each day such condition is allowed to continue upon any highway shall be deemed a separate offense.
This section makes it a criminal offense for anyone to obstruct a public highway.