Relentless snowfall has plowers, shovelers at odds
Hayden resident Terry Ferris explains the process of him moving snow from his driveway to across Upper Hayden Lake Road to his neighbor's property with their permission. Ferris and several property owners were recently notified that their snow removal practices have been hindering snow plowing efforts. (LOREN BENOIT/Press)
Shanley
By KEITH ERICKSON
Staff Writer
As snow continues to pile up at a record-breaking rate in Kootenai County, challenges are arising between residents clearing the onslaught and plow drivers sometimes faced with moving snow from streets that has been displaced by shovelers.
In the Lakes Highway District, several property owners were recently notified that their snow removal practices are violating Idaho statute, hindering plowing efforts and causing safety concerns.
Eric Shanley, director of the Lakes Highway District, said improper removal of snow is a perennial problem, but it’s “gotten out of hand” this year.
“All the agencies are dealing with it,” Shanley said Wednesday. “People are pushing snow onto the road or across the road and it’s causing dangerous conditions, not just for those of us moving the snow but for the traveling public.”
Among those notified about wrongful snow removal was Diane Christensen Ferris, who lives on Upper Hayden Lake Road. For years, Christensen Ferris said she and her husband, Terry, have moved snow piling up on their property onto their neighbor’s land with his permission.
Last year and again this year the Lakes Highway District posted signs on their property notifying them that they were improperly moving snow. Earlier this week, a sheriff’s deputy contacted the couple ordering them to “cease and desist” their snow removal practice.
A frustrated Christensen Ferris said the couple lives at the end of the road with very little traffic and they have always pushed the snow off the road and onto their neighbor’s land. She suggested they were being singled out by the highway district.
But Shanley said, while well-intentioned, the couple was leaving snow trails on the roadway and creating compact berms on the roadside which can cause damage to snow plows. Additionally, Shanley added, they were blocking an inlet to a major culvert.
“There’s a real concern on how that would react to spring runoff,” he said.
Highway district officials met with the couple again on Wednesday, Shanley said, “to help them understand some better snow removal management practices.”
The statute being violated by the couple — and others who push snow onto roads — is titled “obstruction of highways,” which makes it illegal to “place an obstruction in a public roadway that would cause water to flow upon or impair any public road.”
Shanley said the highway district strives to work with residents to resolve conflicts and educate them on the statutes and enforcement policies.
“We try to do everything we can to help,” he said.