TOWN OF MONSON
HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT
SNOW PLOWING POLICY
The Highway Department is responsible for snow and ice removal on public roads. The following is a summary of Highway response to snow and ice conditions.
SEASONAL PREPARATION
Prior to any winter storm event all vehicles and apparatus equipment is inspected and made ready for service. All vehicles are to be fueled. Sand and salt is stored with enough in supply to cover the entire town through, at least, one storm event.
PROCEDURE
All main arterial streets and cross town connectors, as well as those roads with documented high volume traffic, will be top priority throughout a storm event. All secondary roads will be cleared as their snow accumulation approaches 3” or when topography, physical conditions, ice or other safety concerns require immediate attention as determined by the Highway Surveyor. As a rule, gravel public ways will be plowed after secondary roads. Treatment time with sand, salt and other chemicals, on public ways, will be determined by the Highway Surveyor, or his designee. All private ways will be plowed last, providing they are determined by the Board of Selectmen as being open to public use, as per town by-law, in order to allow for the safe passage of emergency vehicles and equipment should they be needed. If it is
determined by the Highway Department that the icy conditions need to be taken care of, it will be done only during normal working hours.
Public safety is the number one objective and will supercede all other issues.
Nine town employees are certified to plow and treat 212 lane miles of roadway. Private contractors are hired by the Highway Department to assist in any storm event that requires snowplowing. This creates a total of thirteen organized routes. A snowplow route is assigned to each employee and private contractor, and each route must be completed before being reassigned to assist in other routes. Snowplowing detail may be divided into shifts if the storm event is expected to last several days. All Highway personnel will take a rest for a minimum 4- hour period following a continuous plowing/sanding operation of more than 18 hours. Standard operations will include snow removal at the Police Department, Fire Department, and Municipal Office Building.
It can be anticipated that at least one piece of equipment will need to be taken out of service during a storm event for repair or maintenance. As breakdowns occur, plow routes will be altered slightly with a minimum of service disruption.
Any outside contractor hired by a resident for private property snow removal will not be permitted to place any snow in the roadway. The homeowners will be held responsible for any private contractor negligence, and the contractor will be reported to the police if the snow is left in the roadway.
Homeowners may be cited and fined for placing snow from private property onto public ways.
RESIDENT COOPERATION
Please be reminded for public safety purposes that Highway personnel are out on the roadways during extreme road and weather conditions and resident cooperation is sincerely appreciated at this time. Please don’t travel the roadways during heaviest cleanup efforts if at all possible, and adhere to town enforced restrictions. (Please see attached copy of Town Traffic Regulations regarding the winter parking ban Section 4, No All Night Parking). Any vehicle left on the roadway during removal operations seriously impedes plowing and sanding, and will be reported to the Police Department. Highway Department vehicles will never pull or tow privately owned vehicles unless directly authorized by the Highway Surveyor.
SIDEWALKS THAT WILL BE PLOWED
Main Street, High Street, Thompson Street, Margaret Street, Mill Street, Harrison Avenue, Pleasant Street, Washington Street, State Street, Gates Street, Cushman Street, Green Street, Bridge Street, Elm Street, and Bliss Street.
Sidewalks will be plowed within 72 hours after storm event.
Highway Department personnel will not be dispatched to salt, sand or plow private residence property, or shovel/plow out around resident mailboxes. Residents are expected to maintain posts and mailboxes to withstand New England winter weather and should repair/replace as needed. The town will repair/replace any mailboxes damaged inadvertently by town personnel.
It should be understood that the town is not responsible for privately owned irrigation sprinkler heads within the town’s right of way.
Parking regulations that have been adopted at Town meeting or by the Board of Selectmen will be strictly enforced in order that we can plow and make safe roadways more efficiently.
RESIDENTS REPORTING STORM RELATED PROBLEMS AND EMERGENCIES
Highway personnel may be unavailable to receive telephone calls during a storm event because all available personnel are clearing roadways. Requests or complaints can be left on the Highway Department answering machine during a storm event, or directed to the department’s business office during regular business hours Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., at 267-4135.
Emergency calls will be responded to immediately as they are received from residents, or town personnel.
Damage to resident vehicles or property caused by town equipment during a winter storm event, should be reported directly to the Selectmen’s office during regular business hours. The town will request that the resident provide his or her concern in writing, and the town will file the claim according to the usual protocol with the town’s insurance carrier.
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