Is it illegal to push snow into the street in Michigan?

Yes. MCL 257.677a of the Michigan Vehicle Code, Act 300 of 1949, prohibits obstruction of safety vision by the removal or deposit of snow, ice or slush. Troy, Novi and Birmingham reinforce it locally, and Bloomfield Township instructs residents to direct their snow removal contractor to pile snow far enough off the road that it does not narrow the roadway.

Where should snow from a driveway be piled?

On your own property, on the right side as you face the street, so the municipal plow's next pass carries it away from the apron rather than back across it. Keep piles off basement window wells, off a neighbor's approach, clear of hydrants and accessible routes, and out of sight lines at corners and driveway exits.

State law and four local versions

Snow in the Street Is Illegal

It is a state matter rather than a city one, and it reaches the property owner who hires the contractor as well as the operator holding the blade.

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The Statute

MCL 257.677a

The controlling provision is MCL 257.677a, titled “Obstruction of safety vision by removal or deposit of snow, ice, or slush prohibited,” part of the Michigan Vehicle Code, Act 300 of 1949.

That is the section and that is its title, and this page goes no further than that. No fine amount is quoted here, because the statute’s full text could not be retrieved and a penalty figure invented for a page like this is worse than no figure at all. Anyone who needs the exact language and penalty should read the section itself or ask a Michigan attorney.

What the title alone establishes is the shape of the rule: the offense is about obstructing safety vision by putting snow, ice or slush where it does not belong — not merely about tidiness.

Locally

Four Municipalities Saying the Same Thing

Troy: “Don’t shovel snow into the street when clearing sidewalks, driveways and parking lots.”

Novi: moving snow back into roadways “creates an added hazard for vehicles, plus it violates the city’s ordinance.”

Birmingham: “Please do not shovel snow into the road or onto someone else’s property.”

Bloomfield Township is the one that speaks directly to the trade, and it is worth quoting in full because it is a contractor standard stated by a municipality: “Direct your snow removal contractor to pile snow far enough off the road to prevent the road from narrowing and creating a safety hazard.” The township further warns contractors not to push snow into the street or onto the left side of a driveway — because the township plow will push it back.

Note the framing in that last one. It is addressed to the resident, telling them to direct their contractor. The obligation is being placed on the person who hired the operator, not only on the operator.

Why It Matters Beyond a Ticket

The Liability Side

Snow placed where it narrows a roadway, blocks a sight line at an intersection, or melts across a traffic lane and refreezes is a hazard the property owner created. Since the Michigan Supreme Court decided Kandil-Elsayed v. F & E Oil, Inc. on July 28, 2023, the old defense that a hazard was open and obvious no longer ends the question; what the owner did is now the question. The cases.

For a commercial property this is a scope item, not an afterthought: name the stacking locations in the contract, keep them off sight lines and away from anything draining toward a traffic lane, and agree the point at which snow gets hauled rather than stacked. Stacking and hauling on a lot.

Practical

Where the Snow Should Go Instead

Onto your own property, downstream of the apron. Facing the street, pile to the right — the municipal plow casts snow to its own right, so a pile placed there gets carried away from the driveway rather than dragged across it. Bloomfield Township publishes this advice to residents.
Not against the foundation. A pile over a basement window well drains straight into it, and full basements are standard in this county.
Not on the neighbor’s approach. Birmingham asks for this explicitly, and it is the most common source of winter disputes between houses.
Not on a hydrant, an accessible space or the accessible route. All three are the first things anyone looks at afterwards.
Not where it blocks a sight line at a corner or a driveway exit, which is precisely what the statute’s title describes.

Snow in the Street Is Illegal

MCL 257.677a

Four Municipalities Saying the Same Thing

The Liability Side

Where the Snow Should Go Instead

Still Want Someone Else to Handle It?