It's that time of year where snow in Bayfield is an actual possibility. That brings up issues, such as enforcing snow route declarations downtown and getting people to shovel their sidewalks, but not back into the street.
Town trustees discussed snow response issues on Dec. 6.
Snow route declarations mean no parking from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. on the designated streets to make it easier to plow snow.
Streets subject to the emergency declaration are Mill, Church, South and North.
"Some people are still parking on the street," Town Manager Chris La May said.
"The way our policy is written, there's supposed to be a snow emergency declaration. The challenge is getting the notice out."
He suggested making the snow route parking restrictions ongoing during snow season instead of declaring each event separately. "Last year we did a blanket declaration of a snow emergency until otherwise notified, meaning until April," he said.
But he also noted that some Mill Street residents park on the street.
Snow emergency parking violators could potentially have their vehicles towed.
Another issue is enforcing the prohibition on people plowing snow from their driveways or their sidewalks into the street, where it freezes, La May said. "We need to start enforcing that."
Getting people to shovel the sidewalk in front of their property also is an issue. "It's a challenge to enforce the way the code is written. We could potentially spend all of our Bayfield Marshal's resources getting people to do it," he said.
Mayor Matt Salka noted that some businesses put their snow in the street.
"It will be a never-ending battle, but this is important," he said. "Taking care of the emergency routes is the first priority for public works. Last year, Mill Street got really ugly."
Trustee Kristin Dallison said where she works on Mill Street, there's no place for the business to move snow from the sidewalk, except into the street.
Trustee Kelly Polites said she lives downtown. "If I know we're going to get 3 inches overnight, I'll move my car." Enforcement might need actual towing of some vehicles, she said.
Trustee Michelle Nelson Yost added, "Twenty years ago, they used to tow cars all the time."
Marshal Joe McIntyre responded, "We don't want to tow someone's vehicle, and the next morning they can't get to work. We've put notices on the cars the night before."
There would be more flexibility with a blanket seasonal declaration that vehicles must be moved if snow reaches a certain depth, he said.
Yost said some people plow their snow onto the street after the snow plow has gone by. Or in her neighborhood, the town plow pushes snow onto the sidewalk where it settles and becomes hard.
And in a heavy storm, some people are just physically unable to clear their sidewalks. She was open to 2, 3, or 4 inches as the snow emergency threshold. "We need a number," she said. She was okay with being more aggressive on enforcement.
La May said he'd bring something to the board as an alternative to designating separate snow route emergencies.
