PennDOT News Release for the upcoming Winter: PennDOT Reminds Homeowners to Prepare Mailboxes for Winter

PennDOT reminds residents living along rural state and local roads that now is the time to prepare mailboxes for the Winter months. Snow thrown from plows can easily damage mailboxes that are not prepared.

Mailboxes are normally placed within the state’s legal right-of-way; however, mailbox damage is the responsibility of the property owner.

If a mailbox is placed as far from the edge of the road as the carrier can reach from a vehicle and the mailbox is placed on a sturdy support, it should be able to withstand the force of snow thrown from a plow.

PennDOT offers these tips to help reduce the risk of mailbox damage:

• Place a 6 to 8-inch piece of reflective tape on the mailbox to help snow plow operators see it at night.
• Remove snow from around the mailbox, but never throw it back onto the road.
• If the mailbox is located within the legal right-of-way and damage was experienced in the past, homeowners may want to consider repositioning the mailbox before Winter.

Homeowners who have followed these tips in the past and have still experienced mailbox damage may wish to consider installing a cantilevered mailbox support that will swing a mailbox out of harm’s way. Visit www.dot.state.pa.us for a copy of plans for a cantilever mailbox support.

Contact your local post office for more information about how to correctly position a mailbox.

During times of inclement weather, crews will treat the roads with a predetermined salt and anti-skid mix according to the type of precipitation occurring. Plowing will start when an accumulation reaches two (2) inches. Parking is prohibited on all Township and State roads after the start of a winter storm. This is enforced by Ordinance 2002-7 and violators will be towed at owner's expense. Please cooperate with this ordinance.

We only perform Winter maintenance on Township and State owned roads. If you are on a private road or development, the homeowners, homeowners' association, or the condo association are responsible for snow removal.

During plowing operations, the crews will be keeping the roads open for motorists. After a storm has stopped the roads will be cleared from edge to edge of all snow. Many residents complain about snow being pushed back into their driveway after they have cleaned it. If possible, wait until we are done with the roads to clean your driveway. If you cannot wait, please connect to the following link to see how to properly clear your driveway to prevent this from happening.

Click here to view the Driveway Plowing Diagram

Please keep all garbage and recycling containers off of the public roadways at all times, especially during storms. Any mess created by not following this request will be the responsibility of the property owner to clean up!

Please click here to see an overview of the Williams Township Snow and Ice Regulations.

Please click here to see the Township policy on mailbox replacement and how to properly winterize your mailbox.