FAQs

To make sure the approximately 6,000 catch basins throughout town are clear to accept water, and to maintain the travel width of the street. In a normal winter, the snow berms at the side of the street can gradually reduce the travel width of the street.

The DPW is responsible, but any assistance by abutting property owners would help and would be appreciated! 

This usually happens for 2 reasons: 1) A smaller truck with a smaller plow is used and it cannot move larger amounts of snow completely off the side of the street, or 2) Property owners or their landscapers place snow in the street. Streets that are less than 2 travel lanes wide will be widened after the storm as crews and equipment are available. In some cases this may result in some snow being cast back onto already cleared sidewalks and driveways or placed back onto grassed areas.

Plowing cul-de-sacs is one the most challenging operations during a snow storm. Most properties on cul-de-sacs have frontages which are narrower than lots on a straight street. Therefore, snow must be pushed into a smaller space. Cul-de-sacs without islands contain even more area which needs to be plowed and, as a result, even more snow has to be moved to the side.

Newington Rd
New Britain Ave
South Main ST, from New Britain Ave to Hooker Dr
Ridgewood Rd from New Britain Ave to I-84
Farmington Ave from Old Mill to the Farmington town line
Albany Ave
North Main Street from Albany Ave to the Bloomfield town line
Simsbury Rd
Bloomfield Ave

This is not done intentionally. Snow cast onto sidewalks and into driveways is an unfortunate byproduct of a very necessary service we provide. When we plow a street we are simply moving the snow that is in the street off to the side of the street. The greater the amount of snow, the more snow that is deposited on the side. A normal cast from the plow is up 8 feet. Sidewalks and driveways are necessarily located in that cast zone.

Yes. Property owners or their landscapers are required to place the snow from their sidewalks and driveways onto their property.

No. Property owner's have up to 12 hours after the storm ends or after sunrise, whichever is later, to clear their sidewalks. Please wait until the street is completely cleared, which may take up to 8 hours, before clearing your sidewalk or driveway.

No.

The police are notified and may issue a ticket for the Town Ordinance violation. Currently the fine is $79 and each day the violation continues is a separate offense. If the walk is still not cleared, another ticket is issued and the DPW is notified. The DPW issues a letter directing the property owner to clear the sidewalk. If the property still fails to clear the walk, the DPW will clear the walk on overtime and invoice the property. That charge will be in addition to any fines which may have been imposed.

There is public sand supplies located in Town for residential use only at the the Residential Drop Off area at the Recycling Center during regular center hours of operation.

Placing refuse and recycling barrels in any portion of the roadway is a violation of Town Ordinance. Barrels placed in the road are a safety issue for traffic by forcing collection vehicles are into the travel lane portion of the road to collect instead of traveling the curb line for collection. Barrels in the road do not allow snow plow vehicles to widen roads to their fullest extent for safe passage of traffic, school buses and emergency vehicles. Automated collection vehicles barrel lift arms can reach up to ten feet from the edge of the road. Barrels should be placed in your driveway opening or an area cleared of snow on the green belt between the sidewalk and street. Barrels that are placed in the roadway will be put back off the roadway by the collection vehicle after they are emptied. Barrels will be placed wherever the collection vehicle operator can place them without interfering with pedestrian or vehicular traffic.

We plow the streets curb to curb, or as close as we can get. Whatever snow is left in front of mail boxes is the responsibility of the property owner to remove or at least make the mail box accessible to the mail carrier. If we made a mistake and left an unreasonable amount of snow on the edge of the street we will return and cut back as much as we can.

We will only repair a mail box if our plow physically strikes the mail box. We will not repair a mail box if the damage is caused by the cast from the plow. People with street-side mail boxes are encouraged to follow United States Postal Services guidelines regarding the erection of the posts for sturdiness and the height of the bottom of the mailbox (approximately 4' to allow the plow to sweep beneath the mail box).

The abutting property owner.

Contact the DPW by telephone, mail or e-mail. Describe the damage you believe we caused, the location on your property and when you believe it occurred. We will investigate and if we determine we are responsible we will place it on a list to be repaired. If we believe we are responsible we will let you know.

As soon as the weather allows us, usually in the Spring. Lawn damage is repaired first followed by curbs and driveway aprons. With all repairs, each year we alternate starting at one end of town or the other and move systematically through the town.

The DPW. 

Parking bans are declared for a set time. Generally, the time frame for a ban is from about the time we believe we will begin a plowing operation until 8 hours after the anticipated end of the storm.

The vehicle is first ticketed and then it is towed by the Town's towing contractor to a central location. The vehicle owner is responsible for paying all charges associated which may include, but not be limited to: 1) The ticket, 2) The tow and mileage charges, and 3) Any storage charges.

12 hours from the time the storm ends or sunrise, whichever is later.

The amount of snow that ends up on the side of the street is a function of the amount of snowfall. The greater the snowfall the greater the amount at the side of the street. For example, if 18" of snow pushed straight to the side of the street from the center line of a 28' wide street will most likely create a 6' high berm.

Most residential streets receive a center pass (traffic permitting) and then 2 gutter passes. Each pass pushes the snow to one side or the other. That means one side is getting 2/3's of the snow in the street with each set of passes from the plow. Which side of the street receives the most snow will vary with the route taken by the plow driver (s) during a given storm. Only the snow that is in the street is cast to the side. Therefore, if your neighbor or their landscaper places snow from their sidewalk or driveway in the street up stream of your property, that additional snow will end up on your sidewalk or in your driveway. For that reason, among others, we prohibit anyone from placing snow in the street.

This generally becomes an issue when we plow during the day season. During the night season the majority of people don't know when their street was plowed. Main streets and areas around schools (when they are in session) are plowed first and then residential streets. The reasons are: 1) The main streets carry the most traffic volume, and 2) We want the ingress to and egress from the schools to be as safe as possible. It takes us up to 8 hours to completely clear a snow plow route. Unfortunately, someone on that route will be first and someone will be last.

The goal is to get the snow off the street. Drivers are directed to drive as fast as necessary to accomplish that task. The speed of the truck is directly related to any combination of the following factors: 1) The volume of snow on the street, 2) The consistency of the snow, and 3) The height of the berms on the side of the street. The plow truck must travel faster to throw heavier and/or deeper snow over higher berms.

If the intersection is not signalized 24/7 and the piles cause a line of sight problem, the DPW will remove the snow to the extent the line of sight problem is eliminated. Following large snow storms, this may take some time and depend upon reports received from motorists to alert us to a particular problem intersection. Otherwise it is the responsibility of the property owner to remove the snow if it is covering a sidewalk.

Each fall the Town of West Hartford offers residential properties a bagged leaf collection program for weekly pickup, weather permitting.  Leaves will also be collected when placed in a marked Yard Waste cart purchased through the Town.  

Each week on your regular refuse collection day crews will collect only leaves bagged in 30 gallon biodegradable paper bags placed at the curb or leaves placed in the specially marked cart. 

Additional information can be found on our Leaf Collection webpage. 

West Hartford’s refuse is delivered to Covanta Industries, a trash to energy plant, located in Bristol CT. Refuse is fed into combustion chambers. The heat generated boils water to run turbines which generate electricity. Only ash residue from the combustion chambers and a small percentage of bulk waste collected curbside are land filled in CT. This is sent to DEEP approved, environmentally engineered landfills. All metal and white good appliances collected curbside are recycled by All American Waste. Any appliance containing Chlorofluorocarbon’s or CFC’s, a gas believed to be ozone depleting, are properly evacuated before being recycled.

The Town of West Hartford provide refuse and recycling collection only to non commercial residential properties with three dwellings or less.

Any damage to the trash or recycling carts by improper use or care will result in the property owner being billed for repair and/or replacement.  This includes any damaged caused by animals.  It is important to maintain carts in good working order.  If the cart has been damaged by extraordinary circumstances contact Public Works at 860-561-8100.

No, barrels may not be placed in the street for the following reasons:

1. Collection vehicles are forced farther into the roadway which causes traffic backups.

2. During snow storms plow vehicles cannot widen streets when barrels are in the streets.

 

Lost or stolen barrels are the responsiblity of the property owner. Each barrel is inventoried to the address it was delivered to, and must remain at the property where they were issued. 

Properties with four units or more, retail, commercial, industrial properties, private schools, religious organizations, and other non-profit organizations. 

Mixed use properties with a two or three family dwelling with a business occupying one of the units are also ineligible for town collection.

 

Please visit our Bulky Waste page for more information.