Ham Lake Commercial Snow Removal: Drive-Throughs and Highway 65
Drive-through lanes, walk-up paths and lots, ready before you open.
Ham Lake Commercial Snow Removal Starts at Every Door
Commercial snow removal in Ham Lake has to cover every way a customer reaches you: the lot, the drive-through lanes, the walk-up window or machine, the front door and the staff entrance. A business with a drive-through has more of those than most, and each one can fail on its own. A plowed lot with an icy walk-up path is still a problem, and so is a clear lobby beside a snow-packed lane.
Our company has been plowing commercial sites since 2003, and its founder, Kent Gliadon, has two decades of experience with drive-through properties, including bank branches with several lanes, walk-up machines and night drops. For commercial snow removal in Ham Lake, MN, each account starts with a written plan built before the season, drawing on every option in our commercial snow program.
How Ham Lake Plows, and Where Its Crews Stop
Ham Lake's snow and ice policy begins plowing at two inches with snow still falling and ranks city streets in tiers. Emergency routes come first. Second are the streets that give access to schools and commercial businesses. The policy doesn't require bare pavement on anything but those top-priority routes, and its sand and salt mix is generally saved for them and for steep grades.
Past the curb, the city leaves the work to property owners. Depositing snow on a street is unlawful under state law, as the policy notes, so snow from your lot stays on site or leaves in a truck. Street parking is off limits too: the city's public works page bans parking on any city street from midnight to 6 AM between October 1 and April 30.
Most of the city's commercial and industrial land sits within 2,000 feet of Trunk Highway 65, according to its 2040 Comprehensive Plan, which describes uses there ranging from restaurants and commercial services to light industrial and vehicle sales lots. In early 2017 the plan counted 3,257 jobs at about 332 employers. If your Highway 65 business serves customers through a lane or a window, here's what we clear and how.
Drive-through lanes under a canopy after plowing.
The Details a Ham Lake Drive-Through Gets on Every Visit
Drive-through lanes with compact equipment
A full-size plow is usually too wide for a drive-through lane and too tall for the canopy. We clear lanes with compact machines that fit under the roof and between bollards, one lane at a time when some need to stay open. Under the canopy, moisture from cars freezes overnight, so lanes get salt after they're cleared, not only the open lot. We also check the mouth of each lane, where a truck too wide to enter often leaves a ridge of snow that every car has to climb.
A walk being scraped down to bare concrete after clearing.
Walks cleared to the concrete
Shovels and blowers leave a thin layer that packs down and freezes. Our crews take walks down to bare concrete and salt them, as part of the walk clearing in every plan. Clearing that last layer before salt goes down is what keeps a walk from glazing over by morning.
A walk along the side of a building, scraped clear.
The walk-up path and the staff door
A walk-up machine or window gets used around the clock, not just while the doors are open. The path to it, the pad in front of it and the walk that connects it get their own line in the plan and a return check for refreeze. The staff door on the side or back is cleared early, because employees arrive before the first customer.
A KG pickup with its plow down in a cleared lot.
Our trucks in the lot before opening
Our plow trucks work the lot while it's empty. The walk crew runs a blower along the building first, so the truck's pass doesn't bury their work. The lot is done in the order customers use it: the entrance from the road, the approach to the drive-through, then the parking closest to the front door.
A snowblower parked at a building corner beside a finished walk.
Ham Lake sidewalk deicing, chosen by zone
Salt that works on a lot isn't always right at a door. Rock salt tracks indoors and leaves residue on entrance mats, so walks near entrances can get a material chosen to track less, and the open lot takes pure salt sized from satellite measurements. Below about 15 degrees, sand and salt go down together. Here's how we handle ice.
Ham Lake Drive-Through Snow Plans, From Walkthrough to Report
Before winter, we tour the property together and mark each access point: the lanes, canopy height, bollards, the walk-up path, the doors and any area set aside for stacking or hauling snow without blocking the view of oncoming traffic. Pick a one-inch or two-inch trigger; once a storm has passed, everything is wrapped up inside 12 hours. Your account manager is a single person you can call, and the storm line never closes. A flat monthly rate is available among our service packages, and the rest of the scope is on our commercial plowing page.
Snow Services for Drive-Through and Walk-Up Businesses
Combine what your property needs; each access point gets its own line in the plan.
Further Reading for Drive-Through and Service Businesses
Our blog covers properties like these in more depth. What bank branches need from snow removal walks through drive-through lanes, walk-up ATMs and canopies. How a gas station lot gets cleared without closing deals with round-the-clock customers and canopies over fuel islands. For the walks at your door, how to de-ice your walkways explains the options.
Ham Lake Snow Removal for Offices, Shops and Light Industry
Drive-throughs and walk-up windows share the Highway 65 corridor with plenty of other businesses. A professional office or repair shop sits empty overnight, giving crews a clear lot to finish before opening. Shopping strips depend on open aisles and front walks through business hours. A light industrial building needs its shipping doors reachable before anything else. If you run a store or a multi-tenant strip, our page on snow removal for Richfield stores and strip centers goes deeper on storefront service. The city limits explained earlier hold for all of these sites: Ham Lake's plows stop at the curb, and its streets close to parking from midnight to 6 AM.
Ham Lake Commercial Snow Removal: What Owners Ask
Does the City of Ham Lake clear the sidewalk at my business?
No. Ham Lake's snow policy says the city shovels sidewalks at government buildings only and doesn't shovel or plow any other sidewalks or trails in the city. It also doesn't plow private property. That leaves every walk at your business, public or private, with you. We fold those walks into your plan, including the stretch along the road, so people arriving on foot get as clear a route as those who drive in. Frontage-road walks count too.
Will the city's plow leave snow across my entrance?
It can. The city's policy explains that snow building up on a plow blade has nowhere to go but into driveway openings, and city staff don't clean driveways afterward. On a commercial property, that ridge can land across the curb cut drivers take into your lot, sometimes after your lot was already cleared. Your entrances are part of the lot in our plan, so clearing that ridge is included in the scope rather than left for staff with shovels.
Does the path to a walk-up machine need to be accessible in winter?
Yes. Accessible routes have to stay usable year-round under the Americans with Disabilities Act, in snow as much as in summer, so the path from the nearest accessible stall to a walk-up machine or door needs to be clear of snow and ice. The access aisle beside that stall is where a plow ridge most often closes things off, along with curb ramps. We walk that route at the pre-season visit and treat it as its own zone on every storm.
How early will my property be ready if we open at 7?
Earlier than 7. Employees typically show up half an hour to an hour before opening, and some businesses run early lanes or appointments, so we plan your lot, staff door and customer entrance to be cleared and treated before the first employee pulls in. Your opening time goes into the plan at the walkthrough, and if your hours change mid-season, your account manager adjusts the route. A drive-through that opens before the lobby gets its lanes on the earlier list.
Can one company cover several of our locations?
Yes, and it's often simpler. One agreement covering every site means one account manager, one point of contact during storms and the same standard at each location. Service records can be broken out by site, showing dates, times, areas serviced and materials used, so you can compare locations and plan next winter's budget. Crews and equipment are allocated across the route so each property is serviced during larger storms. Each site still gets its own walkthrough or planning session, with its lanes, doors and stacking spots noted separately.
Schedule a Ham Lake Walkthrough Before Snow Flies
If your business sits along Highway 65, from Bunker Lake Boulevard north to the Crosstown Boulevard area, we'll go over every lane, path and door together ahead of winter. Our number is (763) 568-7251, or you can write to us. For plowing beyond commercial lots, browse our snow services page.
Other Service Areas
