Is My Street Getting Plowed in Lexington KY?

The city ranks streets by traffic volume, with weight for public transportation, emergency services and schools.

• Rank 1 streets are the primary arteries between downtown and New Circle Road, such as Main Street, Nicholasville Road and Richmond Road. They also reach fire stations, hospitals and police.
• Rank 2 streets are major connecting streets like Red Mile Road, Lane Allen Road and Loudon Avenue, plus streets that serve major office areas, grocery stores and service stations.
• Rank 3 streets are the primary traffic routes through neighborhoods, and streets critical for keeping schools open. This winter the old Rank 3 and Rank 4 were combined into one Rank 3.

The plan counts 298 lane miles of Rank 1, 212 of Rank 2 and 694 of Rank 3, plus 220 rural lane miles. That is about 1,429 ranked lane miles out of roughly 3,657 in the county.

When ranked streets get treated

• All ranked streets get rock salt, salt brine or Beet Heat within the first 4 hours after crews mobilize.
• Rank 1 is treated first and treated again as needed. Rank 2 comes next, sometimes at the same time. Rank 3 is treated once Rank 1 and Rank 2 are safe, so in a long storm it can wait while crews go back over the higher ranks.
• Plows go down once snow passes about 1 inch, and crews plow first, then put down deicer. In storms over 6 inches, crews work Rank 1 and Rank 2 in daylight and Rank 3 overnight, from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m., with a goal of making Rank 3 passable within 24 hours.
• The city's snow page says ranked streets will be cleared within 24 hours of the end of the snow event.

In the plan, passable means at least one lane is open to a front-wheel-drive car at a reduced speed. It does not mean bare or dry pavement, and snowpack or ice may still be on the road.

The city says only ranked roads are plowed in a typical snow event. More roads may be added for snow events of 5 inches or more, picked to reach school, work and services for the most people.

The plan is direct about why. There are not enough resources to fully treat every street and road, with 54 snow and ice treatment vehicles and up to 56 drivers for over 1,400 ranked lane miles.

Report hazards to LexCall 311, such as a dangerous hill or intersection on your street.

• City crews treat ranked city streets.
• The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet treats I-75, I-64, New Circle Road, and the state and federal highways outside New Circle Road. If the lookup says "state road," this is who treats it.
• A city contractor, Red River Ranch, treats the full length of Man o' War Boulevard and Polo Club Boulevard, Alumni Drive from Tates Creek Road to Man o' War, and Clays Mill Road from Harrodsburg Road to Man o' War. That frees city crews for the other routes.
• In bigger storms, Holt Landscaping adds help on Rank 2 streets, and eight disaster response contractors can be called in after that.

The plan has four levels of snow emergency, declared by the mayor or the chief administrative officer.

• Level 1.a. The governor declares a statewide emergency, and the city weighs what it means for Fayette County.
• Level 1.b. No parking on snow emergency routes.
• Level 2. No parking on snow emergency routes, plus odd and even parking on residential streets. Park on the even-numbered side on even-numbered days and the odd-numbered side on odd-numbered days.
• Level 3. No travel on snow emergency routes without snow tires, chains or four-wheel drive, except emergency vehicles and vehicles the mayor approves.

During a declared emergency, police can remove cars parked on a snow emergency route. Stalled or disabled cars in the travel lanes of any road may also be removed. To get a towed car back, call the police reports desk at (859) 258-3563.

Even with no emergency declared, the city asks people not to park along ranked roads.

Snow emergency routes are drawn in red. Tap a line to see the street name.

City Code requires property owners to clear their sidewalks within 24 hours after a snow of 4 or more inches ends. No notice can be issued if the street hasn't been plowed. The city's plan cites City Code 12-8.4 and 17-31.

The city also asks residents to clear fire hydrants and bus stops on or near their property, and to clear the sidewalk for a neighbor who can't.

City crews clear city-managed sidewalks too. The city says Rank 1 sidewalks, such as overpasses, underpasses and high-traffic city sidewalks and crosswalks, are cleared within 24 hours of the end of the snow event, and Rank 2 sidewalks within 48 hours.

• Keep cars off ranked roads and snow emergency routes.
• Clear about 10 feet along the street to the left of your driveway, as you face the street from your front door. The plow drops snow there instead of at the end of your driveway.
• Keep snow forts and snowmen out of the street, where drivers and plows can't see kids behind them.
• The city doesn't use sand. It uses rock salt, salt brine and Beet Heat.

Heavy snow and ice storms typically suspend garbage collection, and the city's waste drivers become backup plow drivers. The city's storm updates cover trash, recycling and yard waste collection. Your regular collection day is on the trash pickup page.

• LexCall at 311 or (859) 425-2255, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. It opens 24 hours a day when the full snow removal team is mobilized.
• The city's snow and ice updates page for storm updates and the street rank map.
• The city's snow and ice control plan page, with the full 2026-2027 plan.
• GoKY for state road conditions, including the interstates and New Circle Road.
• Lexington traffic cameras to see the roads before you go.

The city rewrote its snow and ice plan after the January 24 to February 3, 2026 winter storm and a review of the response. The plan lists these changes.

• All ranked streets salted within the first 4 hours of a storm response.
• Sixteen more drivers on the snow and ice team.
• The old Rank 3 and Rank 4 combined into one Rank 3.
• More staff for hot spots, contractors and public safety calls.
• Agreements with eight disaster response contractors.
• GPS tablets in the trucks to guide them along their routes.
• A contractor on Man o' War, Alumni and Polo Club, so city crews can spend more time on lower ranks.

School bus routes are part of how streets are ranked, but the plan says the bus routes Fayette County Public Schools provided in 2026 added another 340 lane miles. The city and FCPS are working on a Plan A and Plan B bus schedule.

• Trash pickup schedule
• Storm debris pickup
• Power outages
• Who to call in Lexington
• Traffic and road cameras

Street ranks come from the city's Street Centerline layer, the map behind its Snow Removal Rank map, snow emergency routes from its Snow Emergency Route layer, and city-cleared sidewalks from its sidewalk snow removal layer. All three are open GIS data from the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, provided as-is. Our copy was made on October 20, 2026.

The rules on this page are from the city's snow page and its 2026-2027 Snow and Ice Control Plan. Address lookups are geocoded with the U.S. Census Bureau geocoder, and your address is never stored. Map tiles by Esri.