About Those Piles of Snow in the Road

One of our fellow Ponderosa Hills residents recently queried the county about snow left in roads after driveways are plowed, and got a prompt response. 

According to Deputy Michelle Rademacher, county regulations govern only sidewalks; however, she contacted the South Metro Fire Department, who said “it is against fire regulation for any fire access road to be blocked in any manner (this would include snow).” However, the fire department stressed that “the road would have to be blocked in such a manner to impede fire apparatus from being able to safely traverse the roadway.”

If the county has to remove snow that was placed there by a private citizen and it’s obstructing a roadway, the county can bill the party who placed the snow in the road for expenses to remove it. If the fire department is delayed in being able to respond to an emergency because of snow blocking access to the residence, or the snow causes a hazardous condition that results in a traffic accident, the person who placed the snow in the roadway could be open to civil or criminal liability.

 So when plow your driveway, or hire someone to do so, please ensure that snow is moved where it can’t impede traffic.

 Thank you.