Novosibirsk snow chaos: who is responsible for cleanup?
The situation with snow removal in Novosibirsk worries residents year after year, but this winter, the problem seems to have intensified again. The city experienced several snowfalls, but even weeks later, some streets remain captured by snowdrifts. NGS asked readers where to find snow blockages and also found out in which cases responsibility lies with Novosibirsk authorities and where managing companies should cope.
«You can»t pass there now«
The outrage of Novosibirsk residents over the state of streets in winter can be assessed on social networks: they left dozens of comments under an NGS post where the editorial board asked to share photos of problematic areas.
One city resident complained about the sidewalk along buildings No. 9 and 9/1 on Sergeant Korotaev Street. According to her, it is difficult for even one person to walk on the path.
«After heavy snowfalls in December, this section was never cleared. Now there»s a snowdrift in place of the sidewalk, with a path trampled through it, but you could break your legs on it,« Liliya told NGS.
Questions also arose about the condition of the sidewalk near buildings No. 185 and 175 on Boris Bogatkov Street. An outraged NGS reader stated that the area was never cleared.
«We have a mini-square there, where elderly people walk in summer. Now you can»t pass there, the sidewalks haven«t been cleared at all, not once,» Larisa reported.
Municipal authorities also joined the discussion under the post. In particular, from the account of the Kirovsky District administration, they assured that snow clearance on Sergeant Korotaev Street is tentatively planned by January 25, depending on the weather.
The Oktyabrsky District administration also responded to the message about the condition of the sidewalk on Boris Bogatkov Street. According to officials on January 13, the remarks were forwarded to the municipal state institution «Oktyabrskoye» for «eliminating violations in the shortest possible time,» but a week later, Larisa told NGS that the problematic area still hadn«t been cleared.
Another snow-covered path was on the same street near buildings No. 65 and 63. Local resident Alena D. admitted that the snow-clearing problem «is relevant year after year.»
«Snowdrifts along the roads between the roadway and sidewalks are as tall as a person. Last year, they were removed. This year, the even side was cleared, on the odd side — snowdrifts are growing,» the woman lamented.
Another snow-covered sidewalk section is near building No. 177 on Boris Bogatkov Street: an NGS reader said that residents asked for it to be cleaned back in December. The managing company «UKZhKh Oktyabrsky District» told the editorial board that this territory is adjacent to the building and should be maintained by LLC «Zhilremmontazh.»
«As of January 20, the courtyard territory is in proper condition (after manual cleaning), — the company clarified in response to NGS»s inquiry. — Mechanized cleaning of the courtyard territory according to the list of works and services for 2025, approved by the general meeting of owners, was carried out in the period January–December 2025.«
The company added that cleaning work will also be conducted by the end of February, but did not provide exact dates.
«Sorry to ruin the car on potholes»
In addition to sidewalks, citizens« complaints also concern the roadway. NGS reader Laura drew attention to the entrance from 1905 Goda Street to the courtyard of building No. 17/1.
«When it freezes over, we drive with great difficulty. The problem arose from the beginning of the snowfalls. We don»t drive every day, we try as rarely as possible now, because it«s a pity to ruin the car on potholes,» Laura said.
From the account of the Central District administration, they responded that the remark was conveyed to the managing company. However, the road does not belong to the building«s territory, Laura clarified.
The high-rise is managed by UK «Tochka Opori,» and a representative of the organization also told the editorial board that the road is maintained by the municipality — the managing company has no relation to it.
Another road that caused indignation among residents is located on Vitaly Potylitsyn Street, near school No. 216 and building No. 19/1 on Tatyana Snezhnaya Street. An NGS reader sent ten photos of the area at once.
UK «Plyushchinsky» recommended that NGS contact the municipal state institution «Oktyabrsky District» or the district administration: main roads are not within the company«s service area.
«Streets Vysotsky, Tatyana Snezhnaya, Vitaly Potylitsyn, main roads and driveways are on the municipality»s balance. Therefore, cleaning of roads, bus platforms, roadways, and parking spaces on main roads, etc., is carried out by the Oktyabrsky District administration,« the company»s response stated.
«Are not mandatory works»
More details about what territory managing companies are responsible for were provided by UK «SPAS-Dom.» They also commented on the problematic sidewalk near the building on Maxim Gorky Street, 12 — snow was piled from the driveway so that it blocked the passage, an NGS reader reported.
Deputy General Director for General Affairs Natalya Kuzmina clarified that the area is municipal and does not fall under the managing company«s responsibility. The adjacent territory is cleaned according to the list of services approved at the owners» meeting.
«Mechanized cleaning of the adjacent territory and snow removal were carried out in early December 2025 in coordination with the chairman of the multi-apartment building (MAB),» she said.
Appeals regarding snow removal regularly come to the managing company throughout the winter. Officially, the complaint review period is no more than 10 days, but the enterprise tries to respond promptly, depending on the situation.
«Each MAB has its own history, features, tariff, and list of works and services chosen by residents, for which they voted at the general meeting of owners. Mechanized cleaning of the adjacent territory and snow removal are not included in the minimum list and are not mandatory works,» explained Natalya Kuzmina.
The managing company conducts mechanized cleaning, but the number of trips depends on whether apartment owners approved such an expense item. The company is indeed responsible for the buildings under its management, but the area of territories and cleaning frequency are not determined by it.
«Often, the council of the multi-apartment building strives to reduce maintenance fees by reducing the size of cleaned areas and the frequency of measures. Some residents may not even be aware of such decisions,» added the managing company representative.
Areas near serviced buildings, including inter-block roads and pedestrian paths, often extend beyond the adjacent plot and are not within the managing company«s responsibility zone. Their cleaning and maintenance are assigned to other plot owners or municipal authorities.
At the same time, owners of commercial spaces in buildings must also clean the area in front of the entrance. If they create a safety threat or worsen the condition of common property, the managing company requires them to eliminate violations.
One Novosibirsk entrepreneur told NGS that he hires workers to clean the entrance group. Owners of outlets, like shopping center owners, need to maintain the territory in good condition for business.
«In a shopping center, if the parking lot is inaccessible, no one will come, tenants won»t earn and will leave. So they must maintain the territory in normal condition. And city authorities are apparently completely uninterested in sales in private, small, medium businesses,« he noted.
In his opinion, the situation with street cleaning worsened from mid-December, but he acknowledged that there is a lot of snow in the city this winter. As examples of snow-covered places, he cited streets where his business is located: Stanislavsky, Gogol, and Boris Bogatkov.
«If on Stanislavsky and Boris Bogatkov, parking bays are clogged with snow, and people leave cars in the right lane, then on Gogol, this same lane is also buried, — he said. — I unloaded the car, moved goods — I practically had to block the road so that loaders could carry the goods into the store.»
«This, unfortunately, is objective reality»
Deputy Yulia Surnina, a member of the urban economy commission, represents in the City Council of Deputies the district where the driveway on Vitaly Potylitsyn Street is located. According to her, she also received appeals from residents about the problem of cleaning sidewalks and roads.
«This, unfortunately, is objective reality, which we face every day. If it concerns the Plyushchinsky microdistrict, it»s essentially one exit. There are other exits, more secondary, but the main one requires proper maintenance, — she said. — If you go and look now, there«s only one and a half lanes left, and why it»s considered that people should endure this, I don«t understand. Not only can you not really speed up during rush hour, but the roadway is also narrowed.»
In the deputy«s opinion, the maintenance of the road network has worsened this winter compared to last year — at least in the Plyushchinsky microdistrict. But there was less precipitation last year, she acknowledged.
Yulia Surnina believes that improved interaction with managing companies and authorities will help enhance cleaning quality. Among examples of close «communication» with road workers — the suggestion for people to observe the cleaning.
«You report when equipment goes out to work, — willing residents join and observe it, and if something is wrong, they report. This link is missing. It»s unclear who goes where and if they go at all,« the NGS interlocutor specified.
Such «public control» could assist road workers and point out places where snow needs to be cleared. Although people cannot be obliged to control service work in this way — everyone has their own concerns.
What do city authorities say?
Back at the end of December 2025, NGS published an interview with Maxim Kudryavtsev, who admitted that the winter is snowy. During peak loads, up to 400 units of equipment per shift go out onto the streets, the mayor said then.
«During the peak of snowfall, we cannot remove snow all at once, including due to dense traffic, but as soon as weather conditions stabilize, we bring the city to a normative state,» he explained.
Practically daily, the mayor«s office reports on the cleaning of Novosibirsk on its social networks. On January 20, they reported that road workers removed over 20,000 cubic meters of snow from highways and streets — involving 516 units of special equipment and 226 workers.
In the mayor«s office press center, referring to the department of road and improvement complex, they told NGS that streets are maintained by the forces of ten municipal state institutions of district and city administrations of Novosibirsk. Besides them, the list includes institutions of the specialized department and technological capacities of contractors.
«Road maintenance departments are responsible for roads of II–III–IV–V technical categories, sidewalks on these roads, as well as overpass bridges and parking spaces located on them. Cleaning of intra-block territories is carried out by corresponding managing organizations, homeowners associations, housing cooperatives in accordance with lists of works and services for maintaining common property of multi-apartment buildings,» said the response to NGS«s inquiry.
Snow on the streets interests not only Novosibirsk residents but also the prosecutor«s office. Recently, the supervisory authority reported that a road service employee was held accountable for inadequate winter cleaning in the center of Novosibirsk. He was fined 20,000 rubles (approximately $200 at current rates).
