Toppenish Fire Chief Tim Smith is reminding local residents and businesses about city requirements for removal of snow from sidewalks.
“We have had a couple of complaints from residents who have slipped or fallen while walking uptown to do business,” Smith said. “We need to check out these complaints, as it is under our code enforcement.”
In a reminder letter sent out recently to residents and businesses which had not followed requirements, Smith said that the city has required property tenants and owners to clear the snow and ice on sidewalks around their property since 1957.
The Toppenish Municipal Code requires that snow and ice be removed within eight hours after the snow falls or the ice is formed.
Property owners on corner lots are required to clear the sidewalks on both streets abutting their property.
“I don’t want to write tickets,” Smith said. “Most of our businesses are pretty good.”
Failure to adhere to the requirements can result in a fine of not more than $500, according to the TMC.
Smith has also provided the snow removal policy for city streets as follows:
A four-inch accumulation of snow by 9 p.m. will trigger the snow removal activity in the central business area and a five-inch accumulation of snow by 9 p.m. in the residential area will trigger snow plowing.
10:00 p.m. starting and finish by +/- 9:00 a.m. (less public vehicle activity) downtown, fire station, hospital and post office will be graded and intersections cleared.  Snow will be plowed to the center of the street.  Snow will be removed as time permits. Please remove all vehicles from city streets during snow clearing activities if possible. 
Residential will be plowed to 1” ± and intersections will be cleared. Snow will be plowed as close to the curb as possible. Driveways will not be cleared. Snow will not be piled on hydrants.  Snow will not be piled on private property without permission of the owner. Residential plowing will hopefully be completed by 9 a.m. to reduce resident re-clearing of driveways. 
9:00 a.m. dead line is only a projection.  Actual time will fluctuate pending weather conditions.  Residents/business owners should wait until the city crews have plowed their respective street in order to reduce re-shoveling of their driveways. Residents and business owners are reminded to keep the snow from private snow removal operations on their respective property.
The City of Toppenish maintains 28 miles of streets and 8 miles of alleys. 
Our snow removal equipment is readied by Nov. 1.  Two dump trucks with a sander and plow, one-ton truck with a sander and plow, one grader, one backhoe and one loader, combined with our public works personnel will keep the major streets passable.
The City’s snow-control policy establishes the degree of snow control to be used on the streets with the following priority:
First Priority:  All major arterial streets considered to be the minimum network which must be kept open to provide transportation system connection hospital, fire station, police station and emergency medical services.
Second Priority:  Minor arterial streets and those streets servicing public schools.
Third Priority: Collector streets and those additional streets serving as truck routes, public transportation and utility services and selected hot spots such as curves and higher traffic volume intersections.
Fourth Priority: All remaining streets, such as residential and local streets. 
Sidewalks, Driveways or Parking lots:  It is the landowner’s or resident’s responsibility to remove the snow/ice on their respective properties.  It is the owner’s responsibility to keep the snow which is removed from their property, piled on their own property, not on the city streets.