Council hears public works winter‑maintenance plan and debate over Highway 2 sidewalks

Columbia Falls public works officer Sean Bates presented the city’s winter street‑clearing priorities and a publicly available map showing which roads and paths are cleared first, second and third. He said crews are typically called out when snowfall reaches about four inches and that the police department makes the nighttime call to start operations.

Councilors and residents pressed staff about sidewalks along Highway 2, where several council members said businesses sometimes hire private contractors and other sidewalks remain blocked, creating pedestrian safety risks. A councilor asked staff to study a policy change so the city could act faster or apply a corridor‑wide approach. Staff said limited manpower is the central constraint and recommended either outreach to businesses, a shared contracting approach, or a next‑day city response when same‑day work would degrade other essential plow operations.

A resident, Matt, described specific safety issues including piled snow blocking sight lines at driveways and a case where a fire hydrant was pushed out while a bobcat cleared walkways. He said practices appeared inconsistent year to year and asked why the town’s approach differed from the prior year. Staff responded that ‘‘you never push the snow into the street’’ and that the municipal code requires snow cleared from sidewalks to be placed adjacent to the curb or on the property boulevard where available; staff emphasized that pushing private snow into the road is not city practice.

Council asked staff to return at the next regular meeting with an estimated cost for adding Highway 2 sidewalks to routine clearing, and the manager said staff would provide a street‑prioritization report at the next meeting. The council did not adopt a new policy during this session.