An important snow reminder: New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law and New York State Highway Law prohibit depositing any snow upon the highway or its shoulders; this includes pushing snow across a highway or into a cul-de-sac. Please be advised--Monroe County Sheriff deputies will issue tickets if this occurs. Plow contractors must push the snow up onto a customer's property.
Regrettably, in extreme winter conditions, mailboxes can be damaged during snow removal because they are installed close to the road in the highway right-of-way as a courtesy to the US Postal Service. In most cases, damage to mailboxes is a result of the force of snow coming off a plow's blade. This scenario is dependent on weather conditions, the amount of snowfall, and the weight of the snow.
At times, a Town or private contractor plow will accidentally hit and damage a mailbox. This is an unfortunate consequence of snow removal with heavy equipment in challenging weather conditions.
How can you determine how your mailbox was damaged? Typically, if a mailbox is pushed over and has no impact marks, it was probably knocked over by the force of snow coming off a plow's blade. If the mailbox or post shows evidence of an impact, it may have been struck by a Town or private contractor plow blade or a passing vehicle. The angle at which a mailbox has fallen also helps to determine the source of damage.
If a Town of Penfield plow directly hits and damages a mailbox, the Town will replace the mailbox with a standard-issue silver metal box and a single 4x4 post. If you believe this has happened to your mailbox, please contact DPW.
If a mailbox is damaged from snow coming off a plow blade, the Town will not replace the mailbox. If a private contractor plows your driveway, we recommend that you learn their policies regarding damage to your (or your neighbor's) property caused by their operators or equipment.
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Sharing the winter roads with plows means taking care to give them the proper considerations to do their job. Please follow these guidelines to keep everyone safe on our roadways:
- When the snow does come, please allow for extra drive time.
- Clear all snow from your vehicle including headlights and tail lights.
- Give plow operators plenty of room to do their job. Don't try to race a plow or make quick moves to "escape." Cars are not always visible and big trucks cannot always stop quickly to respond to sudden moves by cars.
- Never allow anyone, especially children, to play in snowbanks. Plow drivers are likely to not see them, which could result in serious injury or death.