Before the Snow Falls
Make sure the front of your mailbox is at least a four to six inches behind the front of the curb and mounted at height of four feet. Mailboxes closer to the curb and lower to the ground are most likely be damaged by the weight of snow being pushed from a plow. Take time to make sure your mailbox is sturdy enough to withstand the weight of snow being pushed into it. Make sure to clear snow from all walkways, stairs and paths to mailboxes. For confirmed cases of mailboxes being damaged by plow operations, West Goshen Township will provide a new black or white mailbox and a wooden post.
Trim tree branches hanging over the road. All tree, shrubs, etc. that are protruding into a roadway, must be cleared by the property owners of the trees. Trees may not extend closer than a distance of three feet from the road and fifteen feet up.
Consider installing driveway markers. If your property does not have a curb or other method to delineate the edge of the street, orange driveway markers, available at home repair stores, can help plow drivers know where the edge of the road is and avoid damage to your property.
Keep cul-de-sacs and roads free of parked cars from the time snow starts until the roads are cleared. In the case of steep driveways, park at the mouth of the drive, but off the road. If a car is parked on the roadside or cul-de-sac, we may not finish plowing that street, but return several hours or even the next day to complete work.
While Roads are Being Plowed
Do not place shoveled, blown, or plowed snow from driveways, sidewalks, or parking lots onto public streets. This is extremely dangerous and is a violation of Chapter 70 (“Streets and Sidewalks”) of the West Goshen Code, punishable by fines up to $1000.00 per day. The ordinance also prohibits piling snow into storm gutters.
When shoveling your driveway, leave the last six feet of you drive unshoveled until plowing has ceased. This unshoveled part will allow the snow being pushed by the plow to remain on the plow and not dumped into your drive. If you must shovel out your drive, clear a six-foot area of the road that is directly in front of the mouth of your drive. In addition, clear an area ten feet before and after the mouth of your drive, so that when the plow comes through, it will unload snow that it is pushing in the cleared area and not in the mouth of your driveway. Use the illustration to the left as a guide for shoveling before the roadways have been cleared.
Be Patient. Snow removal does take time, especially in heavy snowfall. West Goshen Township will usually plow potentially dangerous and heavily traveled areas first. Drivers begin one pass in each direction on streets and one pass into and out of cul-de-sacs. We may not finish plowing that street, but will return several hours or even the next day to complete the work. Any residual snow will be pushed back from streets when the storm has ended.
Note that West Goshen Township does not clear all streets within the Township. Private roads, certain Home Owner Associations and State roads are not plowed by the Township.
View the Township's Snow Removal Code HERE
Ma