80 Ridgebury Hill Road Slate Hill, NY 10973 Town Hall: 845-355-5700
Thomas J. DeBlock Highway Superintendent Email
Barbara Young Highway Secretary Email
(845) 355-5700 x 6 Fax: (845) 355-3859
74 Ridgebury Hill Road Slate Hill, NY 10973
Hours of Operation Mid April - Mid October (Summer Hours) Monday - Thursday 6 AM - 4:30 PM Mid October - Mid April (Winter Hours) Monday - Friday 6 AM - 2:30 PM
The Town of Wawayanda Highway Department conducts necessary road repairs and maintenance work every day of the year to ensure the continued safety of those traveling along Town roadways. This includes, but is not limited to, ditching, brush and tree removal, snow removal, and the removal of any hazards overhanging the roadways.
All landowners should be advised that pursuant to New York State and local laws, all municipalities maintain a 50-foot right of way on all Town maintained roads, thus being a 25-foot easement out from the center of the road. The easement permits the Town to perform its highway functions without prior consent of the landowner whose property abuts the roadway. The safety of the public is the Highway Department's highest priority. Work done in the Town is of the utmost importance in order to ensure this safety. The Highway office can be contacted with any questions concerning this matter. Like and Follow us on Facebook!
Permits are required for new entrances on any road in the Town. The permit must be approved by the Highway Superintendent, and inspected after installation.
Where to Apply: The Town of Wawayanda Highway Department Office 80 Ridgebury Hill Road Slate Hill, NY 10973
Requirements:
Approximate Time from Application to Issue: One week
Please Note: If the driveway cut is on a State Road you need to contact: NYS Department of Transportation 845-343-4638 or Click here for more information. If the driveway cut is on a County Road, you need to contact: Orange County DPW 845-291-2750 or Click here for more information.
For streetlight outages in the Town of Wawayanda, please submit a Streetlight Outage Form to Orange & Rockland Utility Company, or contact the Orange & Rockland Utility Company customer service line at 1-877-434-4100.
The parking of vehicles is hereby prohibited on all highways, or any other public property of the Town of Wawayanda between the hours of 10 PM to 6 AM, beginning the first day of October in each year, and to continue through the first day of April on the next year.
It shall be unlawful to delay or obstruct any vehicle or equipment engaged in the operation of snow removal on any street or highway within the town. It shall be unlawful for any person to park any vehicle upon any street or highway within the town after a precipitation of snow of one (1) inch or more, and before such snow is cleared. The owner or any person in charge or in control of any vehicles standing in such street shall move or cause the same to be moved so as not to be in the path of equipment plowing or clearing the streets or highway of snow.
During the recent winter storms, we have noticed a disturbing trend which causes a very dangerous road hazard to exist. Sometimes after a snow plow has passed a residence or business, the homeowner, businessman, or their plowing contractor proceeds to clear the driveway or lot and plows the snow directly onto the roadway. This creates a dangerous condition because the pile of snow represents an obstruction to the motorist. Some of these piles of snow are large enough to cause a vehicle to lose control, resulting in injury to person and property, or possible death. Section 1219 of NYS Vehicle and Traffic Law clearly states that "No person shall ... deposit upon any highway ... snow or any other substance likely to injure any person, animal, or vehicle upon such highway." It further states that "Any person who drops, or permits to be dropped or thrown, upon any highway ... any material which interferes with the safe use of the highway shall immediately remove the same or cause it to be removed." Those persons placing the obstruction in the roadway, or allowing their snow plow operator to leave an obstruction in the roadway are leaving themselves wide open for a massive lawsuit. Be advised, it is against the law.
Mailboxes on highway rights of way which are displaced by highway plows in the course of snow removal - There is no statuary or legal authority which grants a property owner or resident along a public highway any right to place a mailbox in a highway right of way. The owner may have an informal license, but this does not endow the owner of the mailbox with any legal rights in the highway when needed for highway purposes. The Highway Superintendent and the State have a duty to keep the highway available for public use. Snow removal and snow storage are an incident of that use. "The highways of the state are made for and devoted to public travel, and the whole public have the right to their use in their entirety and when obstructions to public travel are found within their bounds, the commissioners of highways are clothed with the power to remove them without waiting for the slow process of law, even though travel be not absolutely and entirely prevented." (Emphasis supplied). Van Wych v. Lent, 33 Hun 301. When the necessity of keeping the highway open conflicts with the individual's receipt of the mail, the latter must stand aside. The owner might even be compelled to remove the box under Highway Law S319. The owner has no right to interfere with the speedy and efficient removal of snow by placing the mailbox in such a position as to cause this result, and no liability results on the part of the public official charged with the duty of snow removal if such a box is so placed that it may be injured by proper highway maintenance. (Informal opinion Attorney General 2/28/66) In order to survive snow removal operations, a mail box must be properly situated, constructed and maintained. Click here for the USPS regulations. Access is also the responsibility of the owner to maintain. Check your mailbox and post annually for proper height and sturdiness. If you can wiggle the mailbox or post, it most likely will not survive many more snowstorms.
Encroachments in the town right-of-way shall be considered unlawful for any person, persons, developer, firm or other entity to construct or cause to man constructed or place or otherwise create encroachments which are located within the town right-of-way unless the specific item has been submitted to the town and approved in accordance with this specification or other applicable laws. (Such encroachments include signs, landscaping elements, shrubs or other plants, improperly placed mail boxes, underground sprinkler systems, drainage outlets, footing drains, submersible pump drains, stone walls and pillars.)
Click Here to view the list of local bridges located in the Town of Wawayanda. (2021)
Click Here to view the list of local roads located in the Town of Wawayanda. (2021)
NYS DOT's website has an interactive map feature to provide you with basic information about projects in and around your community: Click Here to View