A seasonal contract or one storm at a time.
Count the second pass.
In a Royal Oak snow emergency the city plows every street and leaves the end of your driveway to be cleared again. A contract that counts that as a new visit costs more than it looks.
A referral service for Royal Oak homeowners. An automated assistant answers; calls are recorded.
Typical cost: a seasonal contract $200 – $600 with a cap on visits; one visit $30 – $70 — national ranges (HomeGuide, December 2024)
- Cost to call
- Nothing
- Answered by
- Automated assistant
- Hours
- Any hour
The two ways to buy
Same driveway, two kinds of agreement.
Seasonal contract
One price for the winter, with a cap on visits and a trigger depth.
Read whether the pass after the city plow counts against the cap, and what a visit past the cap costs.
$200 – $600 a season (HomeGuide, December 2024).
Per push
You pay per visit, so a light winter costs little and a heavy one costs more.
Per storm pricing often grows with depth: the same chart puts the first 6 inches at $30 – $100, then about $30 for each further 6 inches.
$30 – $70 a visit (HomeGuide, December 2024).
What to ask a plow operator in Royal Oak
Ten questions, answered in writing.
- Where does the snow go? Royal Oak bars snow from private property in the street or on the walk, whether you put it there or your agent did (the city’s rule).
- Who pays the ticket if your crew pushes it into the street? The fines start at $50, then $100, then $250, then a misdemeanor (the penalties).
- Is the pass after the city plow included? The city says the end of the driveway must be cleared again after it plows (the city’s page).
- What depth brings the truck? The city’s own snow emergency line is about 4 inches (the city’s page).
- Is the sidewalk in the price, at least 36 inches wide, the width the city asks for (the city’s page)?
- How many visits, and what past the cap?
- Is salt included? The same chart prices it separately, $20 – $65 an application (HomeGuide).
- Can I see proof of insurance? Michigan licenses no snow removal (the state’s license).
- Who pays for damage to the lawn, the curb or the garage door?
- How do I cancel, and is any of the season refunded?
If you rent the house out
Royal Oak requires every residential rental to keep up its snow removal, and to name a responsible party who lives within 30 miles of the house (the rental rule).
Questions
When should I sign a seasonal contract?
- Before the first storm, so the terms are settled before you need them. At Detroit Metro Airport, the nearest station with a long record, most of the season’s 45 inches falls from December through February (the weather service’s normals).
Will I be charged for the visit?
- Calling us costs nothing. Some contractors charge to come out and look at the job. Ask before they come, and get the price in writing.