Curbside Snow Piles Hazardous to Townsend Shoppers
 | Author:
Nancy Marks
Nancy Marks: MT43 News Secretary and News Editor |
It is Christmas shopping time. Townsend merchants are asking people to shop locally. But how do shoppers get to Broadway Street stores through the icy piles of snow next to the sidewalks?
The question of who should remove snow on Broadway, which is also State Highway 12, came up at the Nov. 15 City Council meeting. Councilman Ken Urich mentioned that Townsend Hardware owner JB Howick had removed snow from the south side of the 200 block of Broadway with a skidsteer. He piled the snow on Spruce and Pine side streets without authority from the city.
Howick told MT43 News that he has been moving snow in front of businesses in his block for three years. The only complaint he has ever had from the Montana Department of Transportation (MDOT) is if he pushes snow back onto the street instead of removing it. So now he piles It out of the way on Pine and Spruce streets. Snow and ice buildup at crosswalks and at sidewalk curbs are a safety hazard for business customers, according to Howick. “MDOT won’t remove plowed snow from the edge of the street, and the City crews can’t do it because they have no jurisdiction on the state highway right of way,” he said
The buildup clearly has two causes: shopkeepers shoveling snow off their sidewalks into the gutter, and highway snowplows pushing snow off the street toward the curb. The result is a mess of compacted snow and ice that makes parking difficult and both dangerous and difficult for people to get through on foot.
Howick said that during a review of documents, City officials found one from the mid-1980s and one from 2000 that held agreements between MDOT and the city, but neither addressed snow removal. He said that in December of 2021 an agreement was signed between Broadwater County and the City for the City to borrow snowplow vehicles from the County to plow city streets if the snow reaches 18 inches or more deep. There is no mention of Broadway.
According to Townsend Public Works Supervisor Tim Rauser, his crew removed Howick’s snow piles from Spruce and Pine streets. “We probably shouldn’t have moved the snow piled on the side streets, but we did because it was dangerous and would be there until they melted in April,” he said.
Rauser had only praise for the MDOT district highway crews stationed in Townsend. “They have a huge job to do when a snow event hits. “We have to give them a little time to clear a few blocks on Broadway,” he said. Rauser, who once worked for the department, said, “If folks had to jump in a snowplow during a whiteout, they would understand how difficult the job is.”
Asked if MDOT has a policy concerning snow removal on highways that run through municipalities, Ted Jones, maintenance superintendent of the Bozeman Division, said there is no set policy. But he added, “If private individuals want to remove snow on the highway, they need to obtain an encroachment permit online.”
Townsend Section Supervisor John Antonich explained in no uncertain terms that removing plowed snow from Broadway is not a priority for his crew. “My crew plows Front Street and Broadway whenever there is a snowstorm, in the middle of the night on their way to clear highways,” he said.
Antonich said his crews plow and sand Highway 12 between Townsend and Grassy Mountain; Highway 284 from Townsend north to the Spokane Hills turnoff and from Townsend south through Toston and almost to Three Forks, as well as the highway between Toston and Radersburg. “Our job is to see that high-speed traffic on those main arteries are clear of snow and ice, so vehicle crashes are kept to a minimum and lives are saved,” he said. “We have bigger fish to fry than removing snow from Broadway.”
He schedules snow removal in town when the snow event is over, but he has no intention of piling up snow in the middle of the street. He added, “If the snow piles on the sides of the street are a hazard, I suggest people park somewhere else.”
Broadway business owner Adam Six has been concerned about the snow and ice piles at the street corners and along the street sides for some time. He related that some years ago a woman fell and broke her hip. “We appreciate what the highway department does plowing Main Street. We try to maintain our sidewalks for our patrons without piling up snow in the street. But it is the area between the two that causes the trouble.” Six suggested, “We look at other Montana communities who have highway streets to see how they handle the problem. All the local partners – the City, the Highway Department and downtown businesses must get involved in solving the problem.”
Article Images
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PhotoCredit: Nancy Marks
Image 1 Caption: Snow Piles on Broadway
Image 2 Caption: Bill Garwood shoveling snow
