Snow Policy

POLICY:  It is the goal and intent of the Town of Newington to provide timely, efficient, and cost effective winter maintenance, snow removal and ice control on the roadways of the Town for the safety and benefit of the residents and the general motoring public.

PROCEDURE:  The objective stated above will be achieved by implementation and execution of the procedures and tasks outlined in the Town of Newington Snow Removal and Ice Control plan.  Due to the many variables that are inherent in New England weather, each storm or weather event may require slightly different effort and/or emphasis on any number of maintenance tasks, which together, determine the overall winter maintenance, snow removal or ice control strategy.

LEVEL OF SERVICE:  It is not possible to maintain a black, snow and ice-free road during a storm.  It is the intention of the Town of Newington to provide practical, safe access along Town streets during winter storms.

It is our policy to conduct snow removal and/or ice control operations throughout snow storms to keep streets open for vehicles. Snow removal operations will begin upon accumulation of two inches of snowfall.  The road agent may, at his or her discretion based upon weather information reports, elect to not remove snow until greater or lesser accumulations.  During nights and weekends, the Newington Police Department shall notify the road agent that road conditions warrant mobilization of snow removal or ice control operations.  Pre-treatment and ice control may be addressed prior to the actual storm beginning, during the storm as seen effective and after the storm. It should be noted that salt has a much slower effect on melting snow and ice at temperatures below 25 degrees, and may not be applied until it is warmer.

COMMAND: Direction of all winter maintenance activities for the Town of Newington is vested with the Road Agent or his or her designee.

EXECUTION:  The policy outlined above is intended to serve as the normal operating guideline for winter maintenance, snow removal and ice control for the Town of Newington.  One or more of the following may delay or prevent the implementation of this policy:

a. Equipment breakdown
b. Snow accumulation in excess of 1 inch per hour
c. Freezing rain or other icing conditions
d. Traffic congestion
e. Emergencies
f. Personnel illness

ADOPTION:  The Town of Newington has adopted the Snow Removal and Ice Control Policy. All residents are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the content as it describes the condition that one might expect to encounter before, during and following a winter storm event.

EQUIPMENT: The Highway Department utilizes all of the assets of the Department as needed to address snow emergencies.  A list of the current snow and ice removal equip-
ment is included in Appendix A.

ROUTES: Currently, the Town is divided into two (2) major plow and/or treatment routes.  Each of the routes encompasses the Town's major artery and collector roads.  Plow trucks are assigned to routes at the discretion of the road agent.  Additionally, there is
a one-ton Ford F-350 truck with a power angle, 4-way plow, used to maintain emergency service facilities, municipal parking areas and to assist trucks assigned to specific routes.  Sidewalks located at the entrances to Town buildings are maintained by the Highway Department on weekends, Holidays and after business hours.  During business hours, sidewalks and municipal parking lots are maintained by the Town custodian.

MANPOWER: The Town of Newington road agent utilizes a labor pool of approximately eight (8) part-time plow drivers and wingmen for winter maintenance operations.

MATERIALS The Highway Department uses both sand and salt during winter operations.  Sand is used as an abrasive and is applied to the road to improve motor vehicle traction.  Salt is employed as a de-icing and anti-icing agent.  The road agent purchases and stockpiles 100 tons of rock salt at the start of the season, and that supply is replenished as needed.   Sand is purchased from a supplier as needed.  Unless weather conditions require a different approach, paved surfaces are normally treated with salt.  During normal plowing operations, chemical treatment of the roads is suspended until the final cleanup.  Roads will only be treated during plowing operations if absolutely necessary.  Salt is only effective to approximately 20 degrees Fahrenheit. Other de-icing agents are effective at lower temperatures and the purchase and use of these agents are of the discretion of the road agent and the Board of Selectmen.

COMMUNICATIONS:  All of the Highway Department's plow trucks are equipped with two-way mobile radios allowing for truck-to-truck communication.  Operators have the capability to communicate with the Town police and fire departments.  Permanent call numbers are not currently assigned to drivers or plow vehicles.

SCHOOLS:  The Newington Highway Department is responsible for snow and ice control on the school driveway and parking lot.  On days when school is in session, winter maintenance efforts are timed to coincide with bus routing and student delivery to an extent reasonably practical.

PARKING: The Town has not adopted a winter parking ban.  Maintenance crews require unobstructed snow removal and ice control routes, as much as possible to maintain the maximum effectiveness of their efforts.  Vehicles or objects obstructing snow/ice removal operations may be towed at the direction of the police department.

PLOW ROUTE PRIORITIES:  The Town of Newington has a total of approximately 15 miles of roads from which to remove snow and control ice.  Currently only the equipment listed in Appendix A is available to handle this activity.  The Highway Department has to assign priorities for winter maintenance in order to maximize effectiveness, as follows:

A.   School Bus Routes.  School bus routes are given first priority
on school days.  Established plow routes ensure that the best possible snow/ice clearance will be completed within one hour of the bus route time.

B.  Police/Fire Department lots will be plowed and maintained during winter storms.  The application of slip resistant materials will be applied at the direction of the road agent.

C.  Public parking areas at the Town Hall will be plowed and
skid resistant material will be applied as needed.

FIRE HYDRANTS:  The Fire Department locates and shovels fire hydrants to maintain access in case of a fire.  They may be assisted by the Highway Department when manpower is available.

ROADS AND SIDEWALKS NOT RECEIVING WINTER MAINTENANCE: The Town of Newington does not maintain a number of roadways, sidewalks and other areas as part of its winter maintenance activities.  The areas not maintained by the Town include:

A.  Private roads, driveways and sidewalks on private property.

B.  Roads, sidewalks and other areas maintained or within the jurisdiction of the
State.

C.  The following sidewalks or bike paths:

1.  Shattuck Way between Bloody Point Road and
Nimble Hill Road

2.  Between Fox Point Road and Arboretum Drive

3.  Gosling Road between the Pease Tradeport entrance
and McDonald's Restaurant.

DAMAGE TO PRIVATE PROPERTY:  The Town of Newington is not held responsible for damage to private property that is located within the public right of way (RSA 231:92 and 231:92a).  The right of way can be up to 50 feet wide, and is often confused by property owners as their own property.  In most cases, the right of way extends 10 to 20 feet on either side of the paved or gravel road.  Home owners often cultivate extensions of their lawns, place mailboxes, erect fences or stonewalls in these areas which can be obstructive to good maintenance being conducted on the roadway.

In the event of personal property damage, the Town of Newington will only be responsible to repair or replace damaged property having been in actual contact with the snow removal equipment that is on private property and not within the public right of way.

PLACEMENT OF SNOW IN RIGHT OF WAY: No snow is to be plowed, shoveled, blown, or placed onto a Town street or across the roadways to the opposite side, unless it is immediately cleaned up and removed so as to eliminate any hazard or danger to the public.

POST STORM OPERATIONS: As determined by the road agent, the snow banks resulting from the previous accumulations shall be pushed back, or shelved, to make space for future snow storms.

All residents are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the content as it describes the condition that one might expect to encounter before, during and following a winter storm event.

Board of Selectmen