Much like the City of Ferndale’s snow removal response, Whatcom County Public Works crews also follow a multi-level response protocol giving priority to more heavily traveled roads and bus routes.
According to the County website, there are 3 levels of priority assigned to the various routes around the 980 miles of roads the county maintains. The lower priority routes are dealt with only after high priority routes have been cleared.
Roads within the Ferndale city limits are maintained by City of Ferndale crews and state routes are maintained by Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) crews.
Click for more information
Click for more information
County officials say this map is for informational purposes and is not a guarantee these routes will be maintained.
Click here (PDF) to view the snow removal priority map for all of Whatcom County.
County crews will sand Priority 1 roads at hills or intersections that identified as hazardous areas and after snowfall has stopped. Priority 2 roads will be sanded at predetermined locations on established school bus routes during ice events if schools are in operation.
County officials say they are aware snow berms left by plows sometimes do not allow access from private roads and driveways onto county roads or to mailboxes. “It is the policy of Whatcom County that during routine snow plowing, we simply do not have the resources to remove berms and clear driveways and mailboxes.”
Officials also advise, when clearing driveways and snow berms, snow piles near the road should be piled to the left of the driveway (when facing from the road). Otherwise plows can push the freshly shoveled pile back into the driveway.
