[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town of West Stockbridge 6-22-2020
ATM by Art. 13. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A.
Street
acceptances. Any article in a Town Meeting warrant for the acceptance
of a public way shall first be submitted to the Planning Board at
least four weeks prior to the Town Meeting. The Planning Board shall
make its recommendation on said article, but its failure to do so
shall not invalidate the article.
B.
Construction
of sidewalks. Any article in a Town Meeting warrant providing for
the construction of a sidewalk along or on public property shall first
be submitted to the Planning Board at least four weeks prior to the
Town Meeting. The Planning Board shall make its recommendation on
said article, but its failure to do so shall not invalidate the article.
No accepted Town way or public sidewalk shall be dug into without
prior written approval of the Select Board and Highway Superintendent.
Said approval shall be in the form prescribed by the Select Board.
The Chief of Police shall have the authority to remove or cause
to be removed from public ways any vehicle parked thereon, after reasonable
effort to contact the owner thereof, which interferes with the normal
functions of removing snow or ice therefrom, or normal cleaning/maintenance
of the roadways. Any vehicle so removed shall be taken into a public
garage and stored. The owner of such vehicle shall be liable for payment
of charges incurred in removing the vehicle and storing the same in
accordance with the provisions of MGL c. 40, § 22D, as amended.
The owner of premises, and his tenant or licensee, shall, as
soon as practical after any snowfall or ice storm, cause all public
sidewalks abutting said premises to be cleared reasonably of such
snow and/or ice, and said sidewalk to be made usable by the public
with as much safety as is possible under the circumstances.
No person other than an employee in the service of the Town
or an employee in the service of an independent contractor acting
for the Town shall pile, push or plow snow or ice onto a Town way
so as to impede the flow of traffic on such way. Whoever violates
this section shall be punished by a fine of not more than $100.
No person shall construct or cause to be constructed a driveway
to any public way until such time as the following conditions have
been met and approved by the Highway Superintendent or Massachusetts
Department of Transportation:
A.
Driveways with a maximum grade of 10% or less.
B.
Driveways with a maximum grade of more than 10% and any common driveways
servicing up to a maximum of two lots.
(2)
Common driveways may not be used to satisfy zoning frontage requirements.
Each lot shall have frontage on ways which serve to satisfy frontage
requirements.
(3)
Common driveways shall provide access to the lots from the way on
which the lots served have their frontage and must observe a twenty-five-foot
setback from the sideline which the lot of origin shares with a lot
not served by the common driveway.
(4)
No common driveway shall be located within 100 feet of an intersection
of public ways.
(5)
The design of any driveway shall, in the opinion of the Planning
Board, assure adequate safety for emergency vehicles, including fire
and police vehicles.
(6)
Driveways shall be located to the best advantage with regard to alignments
with the public way, profile sight distance conditions and the like.
In no instance shall the driveway intersect the public way at less
than a 60° angle.
(7)
Culverts taking the place of roadside ditches shall have a diameter
of not less than 15 inches. A larger diameter may be required. All
culverts under any driveway shall become the property owner's responsibility
for cleaning, maintenance, and replacement as determined by the Highway
Superintendent.
(8)
The elevation of driveways at the point of entry into the public
right-of-way shall not be more than the elevation of the shoulder
of the roadway.
(9)
Driveways shall be so constructed that the water runoff from the
driveway shall not drain onto the crown of the road.
(10)
In no instance shall the edge of the driveway entering onto
the public way conflict with the flow of surface water runoff.
(11)
Individual driveways shall not be less than 12 feet nor more
than 20 feet in width within the Town right-of-way. Any curb at the
entrance shall be rounded off with a radius of three feet.
(12)
Wherever possible, as determined by the Highway Superintendent,
driveways shall be pitched downward from the public way. However,
where the topography prevents the driveway from being pitched in its
entirety, the driveway shall be constructed on a downgrade from the
road surface to the sideline of the Town right-of-way with a pitch
of at least 1/4 inch per foot. From the sideline, the driveway may
pitched toward the roadway; however, in no instance shall a driveway
have a pitch toward the roadway of greater than one inch per foot,
unless adequate provisions have been made and approved by the Highway
Superintendent for the diversion of driveway surface runoff away from
the roadway. The Highway Superintendent may require methods of diversion
for driveways having a pitch of less than one inch per foot if the
proposed driveway construction will result in excess accumulation
of surface water in the right-of-way.
(13)
Driveways entering a paved way shall have a paved apron installed
extending the width of the right-of-way or 15 feet, whichever is greater.
Maintenance of said apron shall become the property owner's responsibility.
Where any contractor or other person(s) is performing construction
work or any other activity on or near a public way in the Town of
West Stockbridge, and where the passage or flow of pedestrians or
vehicular traffic will be impeded or rerouted, and where, in the opinion
of the Chief of Police, the safety, health and welfare of the general
public is jeopardized., said contractor or other person(s) shall procure,
at his own expense, sufficient police detail furnished and approved
by the Chief of Police.
The Select Board and constables shall enforce the law against
running or using bicycles and wagons upon the sidewalks in the Town.
The Select Board may offer a small reward for the detection of any
person placing tacks, glass or other substances on the sidewalks and
highways which may puncture rubber tires.
