Be Notified
We make every effort to communicate on our many platforms the full details of a snow emergency including timing, restrictions, resources and more. To stay up to date, here is what we recommend you do.
- Sign up for our CodeRED mass notification system to be alerted about the timing of a snow emergency as well as when the emergency is lifted. We use this platform to communicate by phone call and text. If you know of any friends of family who might not be as tech savvy, we highly recommend this platform.
- Subscribe to our Winter Weather website alerts. We understand you may not be there to receive the phone call or you may not get all the info you want via text messages. We also understand you may want a place to reference for the all information that was given out about a particular storm. We use our website alerts as a means of ongoing updates throughout the storm to indicate if something as changed with the forecast or if there are other important updates to provide such as declaring the end of a snow emergency and indicating when our snow shoveling ordinance kicks in.
- Follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Once again we will always post the complete information to our social media accounts but sometimes you may have one-off questions that we haven't covered. Feel free to ask them on our accounts and we will do our best to respond to all questions. Social media as also a platform we use to give mid-storm updates if anything of importance changes. Consider it a "live blog" for each storm.
Parking
Remember that during snow emergencies, the rules become more restrictive so you will want to make sure that you find out what the rules are where you park. Any exceptions will be noted by nearby signs and details can also be searched on our Street Alerts app to find out what the rules are where you park. You're going to want to pay close attention to the rules during snow emergency because they can be very different street by street. Some streets permit normal one-sided winter parking and some streets have to be vacated all together. Once a snow emergency is in effect, enforcement becomes more aggressive and for some streets where no parking is permitted, vehicles can very likely be towed.
Check our Street Alerts App to be sure what the rules are. Pro tip for you: Don't just search for your home address but also search for the address closest to wherever you may park in front of. The rules could be different!
For those who are banned from parking on their street during a snow emergency and do not have access to off-street parking, we provide a way for you to get off the street. Choose from one of our emergency parking locations and wait for us to declare it is ok to use those lots. Be sure to monitor these platforms to know when to vacate the lots. For our school lots, we require you to vacate no more than two hours after the snow emergency is lifted. If you cannot be there to remove your vehicle on time, don't use the lot; you will be towed.
Snow Removal
The City of Malden has a considerable amount of pedestrian traffic and we consider those on foot to be as much of a priority as our vehicles on the streets. Our city ordinances require that 12 hours after we declare the end of snow operations for any storm, business owners must shovel their sidewalks and within 24 hours homeowners must do the same. Please review our quick reference guide to avoid being ticketed.
Be sure not to throw any snow on to the street. It is hard enough for our drivers to deal with the snow that comes from above so please do your part to properly clear your snow away from the streets and sidewalks.
Issue Reporting
We know that there are many issues that come up during a snowstorm. Blocked sidewalks, roads not clear, buried hydrants to name a few. We do offer a way for residents to report these issues using our issue reporting system known as SeeClickFIx. Please understand that during a storm, we DO NOT REGULARLY CHECK this system as we are focused on the storm itself. Please wait until the conclusion of the storm to request a street be cleared. There will definitely be times where your road will look as though it hasn't been touched. Don't worry, we will get to it in time!
With some storms, high winds and heave snow could mean power outages. Be sure to immediately report any power outages by contacting National Grid by calling 800-322-3223 or by filling out an outage report online.
If you prefer to contact us by phone, we do not typically staff our City Hall or 311 Call Center during storms but we will update the voice message to include the latest information. If you have an urgent matter, you can contact the DPW at 781-397-7160. Please don't call during the storm if is a routine matter as previously explained. The staff at the DPW are dealing mostly with urgent or emergency situations.
Staying Safe
With the possibility of power outages, excessive snow, access to resources being disrupted and other potential issues, it is important that you have a plan to keep you and your family safe. Here are some tips on things to consider in your pre-storm safety plan.
- Be sure your closest fire hydrant stays free of snow. Although the Malden Fire Department actively patrols the City during a storm making sure access to hydrants are clear, you can take the proactive step of making sure the hydrant closest to your home stays free and clear in case the need arises.
- Be sure dryer vents and home heating system vents are clear of snow buildup. With a major storm, it can be easy for drifts of snow or improper piling of snow can cut off these vents and create an issue inside the home when these gases cannot properly vent out of the home.
- Make sure smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are in working order.
- Keep your phones and other valuable electronics charged.
- Keep driving to a minimum and if you need to be out in the weather, take it slow!
- Check for accumulated snow on your roof to avoid roof collapses.
- Be sure to include your pets as part of your safety plan.
- Check in on your friends, family or neighbors who may need assistance.
Looking for more tips like this? Visit the Mass.gov storm safety tips website.