GETTING READY FOR WINTER 2023-2024

The official start of winter is just a few weeks away. It is a good time to look at what the City of Bayonne has done to get ready for it.

We have more than two dozen plows that can work on all kinds of streets.  The City of Bayonne already has a full supply of salt on hand for our salt trucks.  We will have access to additional salt as needed.

The Public Works Department has more than three dozen workers who are capable of plowing snow for multiple shifts.  They are the best Public Works crew in the metropolitan area. When the snow arrives, we can stagger their hours, so that we can assign workers to plow around the clock.  We have some smaller salting trucks available to respond to such emergencies as icing conditions in our water system.  It is important to respond to water-related emergencies in freezing temperatures before they become major.

There are some important things that the public can do to help us in the winter.  Do not double-park.  Double-parked cars can prevent your street from being plowed.  Try to avoid parking at tight street corners, because that makes it difficult for emergency vehicles to make their turns.  Do not throw shoveled snow onto the streets, because that undoes the work of our plows.  If you have elderly or disabled neighbors, please do what you can to help shovel their sidewalks.  If there is a fire hydrant in front of your building, we would appreciate your help removing the snow from around it.  If you have a corner property, we would welcome your assistance in clearing the walkway of snow at the crosswalk.  We urge all property owners to follow the municipal ordinance that requires the removal of snow within 24 hours after the snowfall.  If you are unable to remove ice from the sidewalk, you have an obligation to sand it or salt it. 

The Bayonne Office of Emergency Management (OEM) advises all residents to follow the Fire Chief’s safety tips, including never to use power strips or extension cords with space heaters. We also want to remind residents to enroll in Bay 911 (by Rave Alerts), the City of Bayonne’s emergency notification system. This will enable you to get important information via robocall and text messages. We use Bay 911, the City website, Facebook, BAY-TV, and X (formerly called Twitter) to help keep our residents informed. 

Thanks in advance for working with the City of Bayonne to help get us all safely through the upcoming winter.