Mayor Walsh Issues Snow Safety Alert as Freezing Rain and Snow Begins

Mayor Walsh Issues Snow Safety Alert as Freezing Rain and Snow Begins

Published on December 26, 2025

Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh has issued a snow safety alert for sleet and heavy snow fall expected in Syracuse. As part of the alert, the City is providing key reminders about plowing, sidewalk snow removal and traffic safety. A travel advisory has been issued for Onondaga County and will be in effect until Saturday, Dec 27 at 7:00 a.m.

"Sleet, heavy snow fall, and strong winds are expected to create hazardous conditions across Syracuse," said Mayor Ben Walsh. "Our DPW crews are actively responding, and we are urging residents to use caution, limit travel, when possible, follow parking regulations, and help keep sidewalks clear so everyone stays safe."

The City's Snow Safety Alert advises drivers to be prepared for hazardous road conditions, reminds residents to obey odd-even parking regulations, and urges property owners to clear their sidewalks and around fire hydrants. Information on snow safety in the City of Syracuse is available at syr.gov/winter. Residents are encouraged to use the City's live Snow Plow Map on the Snow Safety page to gauge real-time road conditions throughout the event to make informed decisions before venturing into snowy conditions.

What Residents Should Know

Plows prioritize clearing primary and service roads to ensure accessibility for emergency services, focusing on high-volume roadways, emergency routes, hills, and major destinations. Neighborhood side streets are plowed once major routes are clear and snowfall has subsided. In Central New York, city, county, and state agencies work together to maintain highways and service roads. For more information before venturing into snowy weather, residents can visit syr.gov/winter.

What Residents Should Do

Property owners should clear snow from sidewalks on their properties and around fire hydrants. Keeping sidewalks as clear as possible during and after the storm helps to keep pedestrians from walking in roads with vehicle traffic.

The Syracuse Fire Department asks residents to clear a three-foot area around and a path to fire hydrants near their property. The City will continue the Sidewalk Snow Removal program this year. Residents can view and download the map of sidewalks that will be cleared by the City in the Sidewalk Snow Removal section of the Snow Safety page. Even in these areas, residents are still responsible for keeping their sidewalks clear.

Residents should observe alternate side parking rules and park cars off-street whenever possible. DPW plows need to be able to access streets to clear them. Syracuse Police will be ticketing and towing vehicles that are illegally parked.

The City has identified priority streets for focused parking enforcement during snow events. These streets were selected using city data, including the percentage of multi-family dwellings, the width of the street, and other elements contributing to increases in on-street parking. The list also includes streets known to be challenging for plow drivers:

Northeast

Southeast

Northwest

Southwest

Residents are advised that seasonal odd-even parking restrictions will be enforced on certain downtown blocks as well.

The City has posted signage marking the parking changes and listing the hours for alternate parking.
Restrictions are in place in the following areas:

Registered vehicle owners found in violation of the restrictions will be subject to ticketing and towing. For more information on Downtown Syracuse parking options, including options for overnight parking, please see the Downtown Parking brochure or contact the Downtown Committee at 315-422-8284 or email them at [email protected].

City residents are encouraged to submit snow related concerns and requests to Cityline using the SYRCityline app or by calling 315-448-CITY (2489). For all emergencies, the public should call 9-1-1.

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