Walk-to-school routes remain a high priority for Metro District crews as snow season starts.

Dirk Ambrose, park maintenance supervisor, has been fielding calls about snow removal since August when parents learned of changes in school bus service.

The district’s first priorities are fire stations, district buildings and designated walk to school routes. After those areas are clear, sidewalks along parkways, trails and community and neighborhood park parking lots are plowed.

Elementary schools have a one-mile circle of areas where students walk to school. Secondary schools have a two-mile radius. Highlands Ranch has 15 elementary schools and four secondary school campuses with a middle and high school.

“We have so many schools in Highlands Ranch that by the time you draw those circles around the buildings, almost all of the sidewalks are walk-to-school routes,” Ambrose said.

Trails in open space can also be designated walk to school routes. Those trails that are paved are cleared by Metro District crews.

Soft surface trails, including crusher fine gravel trails cannot have plowing equipment on them.

“Our small plows will sink in the mud,” Ambrose said.

Since small plows handle the sidewalks and trails, while fire stations and district office parking lots require a plow truck, the walk-to-school routes are often cleared early on.

Plow crews start as early as possible, often clearing as a storm progresses. Crews can hit the pavement at midnight and work through a storm.

Once 3 inches accumulate, the crews are on duty.

For the streets themselves, Douglas County sends crews out to clear the largest roads first, with smaller roads and cul de sacs in descending priority.

The county starts clearing roads as soon as snow falls.

Sometimes the district and the county work at cross purposes when sidewalks get cleared before the county road plows come through. The snow from the driving lanes is turned up onto the sidewalks.

“We try to work together,” Ambrose said.

Even residents have responsibilities when it snows.

Douglas County requires residents to clear sidewalks in front of and alongside houses and areas near mailboxes and fire hydrants.

If a person lives on a corner with a hydrant, that resident is responsible for shoveling the full sidewalk along roads and the area around the hydrant.