Residents must clear rights of way so that their possessions don’t end up buried by snowplows, say city officials.
Rights of way include not just paved roads, but also nearby city-owned areas like roadside ditches. For example, a 20-foot-wide lane may be encompassed by a 40-foot-wide right of way.
Residents sometimes leave fishing nets, small boats, trailers and broken-down cars in rights of way, said Samantha Greenwood, director of public works. As winter’s first snowfall approaches, objects left in rights of way may be inadvertently buried in snow or run over by snowplows.
“It’s legal to park in a right of way, but it’s not legal to store in a right of way,” Greenwood said. “If you’re parking your car and using it every day, that’s fine… But if your nets or your fishing boat are off on the side of the road, being stored there and not moving, that needs to go.”
