If Indy gets hit with another major storm this winter, neighborhood streets will be plowed.
That’s the directive from Mayor Joe Hogsett, who issued a statement Feb. 13 instructing the Indianapolis Department of Public Works to plow residential streets if snow accumulation reaches 4 inches for the remainder of the current snow season.
“The new residential snow response standard will set out clear expectations for when and how neighborhood streets will be plowed,” read a joint statement from Hogsett and City-County Council President Vop Osili.
What remains unclear, however, is whether the new 4-inch standard will carry over into next year. In the statement, Hogsett and Osili said those details will be discussed during the 2026 budget process.
The mayor’s order comes in response to an outcry from local residents and elected officials over his administration’s response to a January storm that dumped more than 8 inches of snow in Indianapolis.
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At a January committee meeting, DPW officials defended their decision not to send contractors to plow neighborhood streets, forcing residents to navigate icy roadways long after the storm passed. Many residents went without trash pickup for several weeks.
Dissatisfied councilors began working on a solution.
The council’s Public Works Committee met Feb. 13 to discuss a proposal from Councilor Jared Evans, a westside Democrat, that would enshrine the 4-inch threshold into city code. The proposal was postponed until the committee’s March meeting, however, and may be scrapped altogether if councilors decide to wait until the budget season, as the mayor suggested.
Evans said during the committee meeting that the proposal was tabled because DPW officials needed more time to review it.
Councilor Ron Gibson, a Democrat who represents parts of the northeast side, said he supported giving the administration more time.
“I support Councilman Evans’ motion (to postpone),” Gibson said at the Feb. 13 meeting. “It’s obvious that the administration is listening. They’ve got experts at the table. They’re having dialogue. I think it’s appropriate we amend to next month.”
The snow policy back-and-forth came at a time of leadership transition at DPW. Hogsett recently appointed Todd Wilson to head the department, replacing Sam Beres, who was interim director following the resignation of Brandon Herget in November.
Prior to 2020, DPW had an unofficial policy of plowing residential streets if snow totals reached 6 inches anywhere in Marion County. But after years of mild winters, the department changed its policy to prioritize major thoroughfares and secondary streets known as connectors, leaving it up to their own discretion whether neighborhood streets should be plowed.
Peter Blanchard covers local government. Reach him at 317-605-4836 or peter.blanchard@mirrorindy.org. Follow him on X @peterlblanchard.
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