NEW SALEM — After a trial period, the town is ceasing winter maintenance on a portion of West Street that had previously been left unmaintained during the winter months.
Several residents stated that for as long as they have lived in New Salem, the portion of West Street extending from the last driveway on Wendell Road to the last driveway on West Main Street, a short portion at a steep incline, has been left unmaintained during the winter to prevent usage by motorists and potential liability to the town.
“That road … it’s very narrow, it’s pretty dangerous. Because there’s a constant flow of water from natural springs that are there, the road is always icy,” West Street resident Steve Erney told the Selectboard at the Jan. 12 meeting. “On the left-hand side, there’s a drop-off where somebody could easily go off that road and down into a ravine.”
According to Town Coordinator Emily Hill, beginning as most recently as 2020, if not earlier, the town began receiving requests from a resident to begin winter maintenance.
Although Hill declined to disclose the resident’s name, the last public mention of a request of this nature that is recorded in Selectboard meeting minutes comes from 2023, when David Briand told the board that he could only access his logging property through this portion of unmaintained road.
However, according to Hill, during the most recent inquiry into winter maintenance beginning in September, the town’s lawyers advised that there were no properties that could only be reached through this portion of road.
Efforts to reach Briand for comment were unsuccessful.
Hill recounted that after she received a request in September to look into the possibility of winter maintenance, she met with the Fire Department, Highway Department and the town’s lawyers. This resulted in the Highway Department’s decision to start a trial period.
At the Jan. 12 Selectboard meeting, many residents shared concerns about how this trial period has been going, and expressed anxiety over the possibility that non-residents who are unfamiliar with the road might be directed by a GPS to take that portion of West Street and find themselves unable to turn around.
No one spoke in favor of continuing winter maintenance on West Street, and the Selectboard voted unanimously to cease maintenance.
“The Selectboard generally will … try to problem-solve, whatever they hear [complaints about],” Hill said in an interview. “When we have someone who would like something, we’re going to try to meet that request … but [in this case], we heard a lot more of the reverse of that [request].”