AMHERST — At the end of the Jan. 25-26 snowstorm that dumped well over a foot of snow on the region, a new sidewalk on the south side of Northampton Road near Amherst College’s athletic fields was covered in what a property owner estimates was 6 feet of densely packed snow and ice.
Because the paved path — which totals about 3/10 of a mile — was blocked by the massive frozen accumulation, pedestrians were forced into the breakdown lane on the state highway. The town’s inspections department soon warned residents of adjacent homes about possible fines for not removing the snow and ice from the short stretch of sidewalk. This sidewalk, however, didn’t exist until two years ago, when the state’s Department of Transportation added it.
For Andrew Bass, a Hadley attorney who owns rental property at 306 Northampton Road, clearing the snow from the new sidewalk is an unfair burden, especially since the town or Amherst College routinely clears every other sidewalk along the road.
Not only that, but the state’s plow trucks push a significant amount of snow from four lanes of traffic onto the sidewalk, possibly a violation of the town’s bylaws, he said.
“Plowing so much snow onto the sidewalk is illegal,” Bass said, pointing to the snowbanks that he said would require heavy industrial equipment, such as a wheel loader or tracked skid steer, to remove.
Bass said his own private contractor for the driveway and parking lot told him that the work couldn’t be safely done without having police officers on hand, due to the dangers posed by the high-speed passing vehicles nearby.
“He didn’t know how he would do this without a police detail,” Bass said.
In a letter sent to KP Law, the town’s attorney, and members of the Town Council, Bass wrote, “the town’s position to the few homeowners on this new stretch of road/ sidewalk/ highway is absurd: ‘clear it or be fined.'”
For town officials, though, the protocol adopted by Amherst’s then Select Board in 2004 — when members approved plowing the 30 miles of town sidewalks after each snowstorm by the town’s Department of Public Works — continues to be enforced.
This policy calls for the town to plow sidewalks on main thoroughfares and those bordering town and school properties. This was reiterated in 2008 when the Select Board opted against extending sidewalk plowing to all 61 miles. All other property owners are required to clear the sidewalks in front of their property after storms.
Town Manager Paul Bockelman said this week that the town cannot add more sidewalks to the current plow routes. “The DPW is already stretched thin with its responsibilities,” Bockelman said.
On principle, too, the town will not plow any more sidewalks, as residents in other neighborhoods would make similar appeals using identical rationales, Bockelman said.
“Amherst plows more sidewalks than any other community I know of,” Bockelman said.
Since the sidewalk on Northampton Road is considered in the state right of way, Bockelman said he would talk to DOT officials about whether the state could handle this, as well.
Nearby, Amherst College takes care of the Northampton Road sidewalk from Orchard Street to Hazel Avenue, which is also in front of its playing fields.
Bass decided to get involved pro bono after Edmund R. Smith, the lead code enforcement officer, wrote to five property owners Jan. 29 advising, “Our office has received a complaint from a citizen regarding failure to clear the sidewalks in front of your properties within 24 hours of storm events during this winter.”
Smith’s letter suggests appealing to the town to add plowing, but “whether sidewalk sections are added or not, final maintenance of clear sidewalks across town is expected to be managed by the adjacent property owners.”
In response, Bass indicated that plowing might be done, in protest:
“Any present efforts to clear snow by my client are done under protest and the direct result of threatened monetary fines and are not to be characterized as an acceptance of liability for sidewalk clearing. “
The issue was initially raised by Michael Como, of 260 Northampton Road, who told the Town Council in December that adding the 3/10 of a mile on the south side of Northampton Road makes sense because the town’s sidewalk plow is already in the vicinity. That plow crosses at the main gate of Amherst College’s Pratt Field and makes two more crossings, back and forth, at University Drive.
“Clearing the south sidewalk on the way back to town will not require additional staff or resources,” Como said. “As mentioned, the plow and the driver are already at the University Drive intersection. The plow can return to town just as timely and conveniently on the south sidewalk as the north sidewalk.”
Bass said this indicates that the town should add the plowing.
“I thought the town’s position was ridiculous even before I knew about the route of the plow,” Bass said.
Como has also begun circulating a petition.
In his oral comments, Como asked for a “slight adjustment” in the sidewalk plow that would have it return to the center of town via the entire length of the south sidewalk, rather than crossing Northampton Road to return via the north sidewalk with the plow lifted in the air.
His written appeals had previously been denied.
“The reasons cited were limits to the budget and staffing, diminished resources and the town doesn’t have sufficient personnel or equipment to plow all sidewalks,” Como said.
Since then, Como said Council President Mandi Jo Hanneke informed him to continue his appeals to Town Hall and the DPW. Como said he and others are seeking what is fair and just.
“We’re requesting an equitable solution for a hardship on us not of our own doing,” Como said.