Snow removal & plowing in Memphis, MI

What plowing in Memphis actually involves

The smallest and furthest community we serve, straddling the Macomb and St. Clair county line at just over a square mile. The Belle River runs along the north and east sides, and the low ground beside it ices reliably. Being this far out means the same honest caveat as Richmond Township: we get here, but we get here later in a route than Macomb Township does, and you should price that into your decision.

Memphis is 1,084 residents, 1.15 square miles, a city.

Settled in 1834 by the Wells family from Albany, New York, and called Wells Settlement until 1848 — renamed for Memphis in Egypt because the bluff above the Belle River recalled that city’s position on the Nile. In 1884 the Clegg brothers built "The Thing" here, the first recorded automobile made in Michigan.

Memphis specifics

Roads we run: Main Street (M-19), 34 Mile Road.

Water: the Belle River.

ZIP codes we cover in Memphis: 48041.

From our base: about 18 miles from our base in Macomb Township, which puts it later in a storm route than the communities closest to us. We say that up front rather than letting you find out in January.

Snow rules in Memphis

Who plows your street: the city plows its own streets; county roads through Memphis are plowed by the Macomb County Department of Roads, and state highways by MDOT. See who plows which roads.

How Memphis handles snow: Memphis sets its winter sidewalk rule in Sec. 91.070 of the city code. The occupant, or the owner of an empty lot, must clear ice, snow and litter from adjoining sidewalks, and once 4 inches or more has accumulated, the snow must be cleared within 24 hours. Owners must also make a prudent effort to control ice by removing it or spreading de-icer or sand, and may never leave snow or ice that creates a hazard for pedestrians. Failing to clear a walk is a municipal civil infraction, the city may clear it and charge the cost as a special assessment, and under Sec. 91.069 the owner is liable to the city for damages anyone recovers from it because snow or ice was left on the walk. Source: City of Memphis Code of Ordinances, Ch. 91 (Secs. 91.069, 91.070).

How much snow to plan for: Richmond 4 NNW, the co-op weather station in the north of the county, averaged 41.2 inches of snow and about 7 snowfalls of 2 inches or more a winter from 2009-10 to 2025-26. The full count is in how many plowable snows Macomb County gets.

What you get in Memphis

• Smaller equipment where drives run close to historic structures.
• Walks and steps on your quote cleared by hand, full width to the surface.
• Shared-drive arrangements agreed in writing before the season.
• Snow storage walked and agreed in November, not argued in January.

Old drives, tight margins

Village housing stock brings genuinely old driveways: narrow, close to the house, frequently running past a structure with no margin for error. We run smaller equipment here for that reason, and it is worth telling us about anything fragile — a stone edge, a porch column, landscape lighting — in October rather than after.

Shared drives need an agreement

A good number of village properties share a drive between two houses. That needs a conversation about who is paying and where the snow goes before the season starts, not during the first storm. We are happy to bill two households separately for one drive, but both need to have agreed the arrangement.

Elevation and timing

The villages in the north of the county sit noticeably higher and further from the lake than the shoreline communities, so they hold snow later into the spring from the same system. Worth factoring into when you think the season ends.

Commercial snow plowing in Memphis

We plow and salt plazas, offices, medical buildings, churches and apartment lots across Memphis, including the commercial stretches along Main Street and 34 Mile Road. Commercial sites run a 1-inch trigger, accessible parking and entrances are cleared first on every visit, and every stop is timestamped on our route board: the record a property manager needs when a slip-and-fall claim arrives months later.

Lots up to 7,000 square feet price at $0.057 per square foot per visit with a $150 minimum; larger Memphis sites are priced after a site walk. See commercial snow and ice management.

Hardscape work in Memphis too

We run both trades in Memphis. If you are here about snow, the hardscaping page for Memphis covers the other side — and being the same crew on the same street is why we can tell you honestly whether a plow will damage your pavers.