An Update of the February Blizzard Cleanup

A message from Director of Public Works Joe Bragaw:

The Highway Department appreciates all of the residents and business owner’s patience as we have been trying to clean up the Town roads after winter storm NEMO.  At this point, we are winding down cleaning up trouble spots in intersections and narrow roads and are shifting our efforts to clearing the sidewalks that the Town is responsible for and also removing snow from the downtown areas. We are planning on working in Downtown Pawcatuck tonight from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. to remove excess snow off the edges of road from the Pawcatuck River to the West Broad St school along Route 1.  Because of this, we ask that any cars that might be parked along this route to  move them to other locations during this time span.  

Additionally, with regards to sidewalks, the Town of Stonington has approximately 32 miles of sidewalks so it is a large task to insure that the snow has been removed from all of these sidewalks.  We understand that the volume of snow from this Winter Storm NEMO has made it  very difficult to clear these walks.  However, the Town does have an ordinance that requires abutting property owners to clear the sidewalks in front of their property.  Therefore, as the sun comes out and the temperatures rise above freezing, we are appealing to property owners to do the best that they can with clearing the snow from the sidewalks in front of their property (even if they can clear only a shovel width wide swath to allow school children and residents to safely walk off the roads. If you have any questions with the Town ordinance with regards to clearing snow off sidewalks  or have an extenuating situation that requires more time to clear the walks, please call the department at 860-535-5055.