We’re seeing an increase in the numbers of people pushing snow out of their driveways and across the road.  Many municipalities consider this practice to be illegal. 

Wis. Stat. § 346.94(5) prohibits anyone from placing or causing to be placed upon a highway any foreign substance which is or may be injurious to any vehicle. This prohibits anyone from plowing, shoveling, or blowing snow onto a road. The penalty for violating this statute is $50 for each offense.

Lanark prefers to be a bit more accepting of the practice, PROVIDED THAT IT IS DONE CLEANLY.  All snow pushed across the road should be completely off the roadway so that there is no evidence that the snow was pushed across the road in the first place.  Any residual clumps or tracks of snow on the roadway can create problems, especially when that snow becomes ice after temperatures drop.  We’ve received complaints from school bus and emergency vehicle drivers about hitting this “residual” snow. 

There are also situations where adding snow to a ditch can result in drainage problems when the snow melts.  Wis. Stat. § 86.022 makes it a misdemeanor punishable by fine to place any obstruction in a road ditch which will impede drainage.  As such, individuals should not be filling ditches with compacted snow.

We’re also asking that residents place their trash/recycling containers outside the travel path of the snow plow. The trash/recycling collection trucks can reach out 4 feet to capture the containers, so make sure those containers are placed beyond the ridge of snow that marks the edge of the plow’s path.