Winter Maintenance of City Sidewalks
During the winter, the City of Bangor maintains an interconnecting network of sidewalks on main arteries and connector streets that connect businesses and schools to residential areas of the city. Unfortunately the city does not have the resources to maintain residential sidewalks on all residential streets.
Public Works will keep an alternate list of residential sidewalks to be cleared after the designated list of sidewalks is cleared (refer to the list below). Alternate sidewalks may not be able to be cleared during periods of frequent storms as it may take several days to clear the designated list. Once alternate sidewalks accumulate several storms, especially ice, it may not be possible to clear them.
In all, approximately 6 miles of sidewalks in the downtown district are maintained by two small front end loaders and approximately 84 miles of sidewalks outside the downtown district are maintained by 6 municipal tractors and a sidewalk loader, which can either plow or use snow blowers and spread sand, depending on conditions. Generally all runs can be cleared in eight hours under ideal conditions. Rarely do we experience ideal conditions. Plowing sidewalks is tough. Breakdowns are common. Ice is extremely hard on equipment. As the winter progresses and snow accumulates it may take several days to clear the designated sidewalk list.
How can residents assist Public Works to keep sidewalks passable?
- Please remove items such as Christmas trees, toys and rubbish from sidewalks. Hitting any of these items buried in snow can result in a breakdown for several hours or days if parts need to be ordered.
- Please do not block sidewalks, with snow or ice.This slows down sidewalk clearing and results in excessive equipment breakdowns. Please relay this to your plow driver!
- Please do not block the sidewalk with vehicles parked in your driveway. Any vehicle blocking snow removal, even if it is in your driveway, may be towed at the owner’s expense.
- Bangor residents can pick up free sand at Public Works, 530 Main Avenue, Monday-Friday from 8am-4:30pm, to use on icy/snowy sidewalks, driveways, and stairs. Residents allowed to fill two 5-gallon buckets at a time (bring your own buckets). Please note there is some salt mixed into the sand to prevent the sand from freezing in cold weather (5 parts sand to 1 part salt).
Click here to view the Code section regarding snow removal on City sidewalks and responsibilities of business owners
|
Contact Information
Mailing Address
530 Maine Ave., Bangor, ME 04401
Phone
207-992-4500
Fax
207-942-6631
Email
public.works@bangormaine.gov
|