It takes the city of Carmel approximately 24 hours to remove a foot or more of snow from the roughly 480 miles of streets and roads.
Roads are plowed in a set order: the most important thoroughfares and streets first, followed by the “collectors” (106th, 126th, Gray, Spring Mill, etc.). When these roads and streets are clear and passable, the plows move onto residential streets. Streets and areas with hills are salted in advance of the storm.
Avoid travel on the roads until the streets are cleared.
The city will have close to ninety vehicles on the roads clearing snow. Indianapolis announced yesterday afternoon that they will have 112 vehicles plowing snow. Indianapolis has more than 11 times the numbers of road miles, but roughly the same amount of plows.
Large plows are used to push large amounts of snow on our straight streets, while smaller pick-ups (water company vehicles, for instance) that have been fitted with plows and can maneuver more easily in circles plow cul-de-sacs and circles. In a severe event, there may be several hours between the arrivals of each plow.
The fire department has a dedicated plow to get their equipment, particularly, medical rescue equipment and personnel, in and out of driveways.
The city may organize a volunteer “shovel-out” of the elderly and disabled, if necessary. “Shovel outs” have been done in the past by coordinating youth, scout troops and other volunteers in the community who wish to help, once the roads are passable.
A copy of Carmel’s snow removal policy can be found here: http://www.carmel.in.gov/index.aspx?page=102