Town to fine for snow pushed back into public roadways
By Ken Powers Community Reporter

Westborough - Private snow plow operators who leave much of the snow they plow out of private driveways on public roads could face fines as the result of the enforcement of a town bylaw that prohibits the practice.

"It's just slipshod work," Department of Public Works Director John Walden said. "They're trying to do as many driveways as they possibly can as quickly as they can, so they don't spend the extra two or three minutes it would take to keep the snow out of the road. They tell me, because I've asked, if they spend the extra two or three minutes they won't get to as many driveways and it will cost them money."

Walden is skeptical of the excuse. He estimated that 90 percent of private driveway jobs are contracted to in advance. So, each private plow operator only has a certain number of driveways he's doing anyway. There really isn't a financial reward for going faster, he explained.

"It's just people doing sloppy work," he said.

Walden said there are several "hot spots" in town, mainly in subdivisions, where this practice is quite common. He said about 25 percent of the streets his workers plow have snow pushed back in them, requiring a re-plowing of roads that adds an extra three hours' worth of work for his crew.

"It's an extra $3,000 per storm the public is spending because a few plow operators are being inconsiderate," Walden said. "The streets are immaculate at 3 a.m., and then some are a mess again by 6 a.m."

Walden brought the issue to the Board of Selectmen at its Jan. 8 meeting. The selectmen, after consulting with Police Chief Alan Gordon, agreed that a conscious eff ort needs to be made to crack down on the perpetrators.

Gordon said that previous police practice had been to issue warnings to town residents when they saw snow being pushed back into public roadways, even though the town bylaw states that violators can be fined $100.

Walden would like to see an even greater financial penalty be levied against guilty parties.

"I think they should be forced to pay what it costs for us to come back and plow the road again," Walden said. "It would be a lot more than a $100 fine and I'm pretty sure we'd only have to fine like that after one snowstorm and then the problem would go away pretty quickly."

Walden said he thought the problem would be remedied during the next storm. He said he has provided the police with a list of the areas and streets where the violations occur. The storm following the decision occurred Jan. 14.

A lesser problem, Walden said, is town residents who use blowers to remove snow from sidewalks and driveways and by design blow the snow back into the road.

"I've driven around and seen it happen," Walden said, "and when I've stopped and said something to people, I always get the same response, 'You people always put your snow at the end of my driveway, so I'm just putting it back where it came from.' It's not my snow, it's our snow, everyone's in town. If we all did our part to remove it and put it in the right spots, I think everyone would be a lot happier."