of road maintenance The practice of road maintenance on Gough Road -- that according to residents has gone on since 1946 -- was halted by Town of Riga officials in 2005 and that has residents on that stretch of road up in arms. Gough is a dead end road that is three-quarters of a mile long, has three homes and seven property owners. "It appears that over the years, from time to time, some limited maintenance was done, but as I understand it, the fact that this road is a private road was well known and the town never treated it as a public road, but rather, as a courtesy would sometimes do a little maintenance," Town Supervisor Pam Moore said. Jennifer Robinson, who has lived on Gough Road for close to 12 years, said residents discovered the town wasn't going to maintain the road after calls were placed to the town requesting minor road repairs. "We never received notification that the town wasn't going to maintain the road," Robinson said. "We have documentation that shows the town's taken care of the road since 1946, and that if the town had performed regular maintenance for more than 20 years, they assume ownership." In 2005, Highway Superintendent Tom Klafehn came to the town board regarding this situation because he noted he is not authorized to expend town funds on anything but public roads. Moore also explained that providing such a courtesy would put the town at risk for liability. No maintenance by the town was performed in 2005 and none has been performed in 2006. The issue has been raised at several board meetings and Moore said the board agreed to look into the matter. "Our attorney determined that it was a private road and advised we should continue to deny requests for maintenance. The residents also went to DOT and DOT took the same position," she said. Neither the town or NYS DOT can maintain a private road. Maintenance of private roads is sometimes done by the owner or sometimes a neighborhood association is formed and those who use the road join together and arrange for summer maintenance and snow plowing. What is done varies. Maintenance of private roads is very common in this geographic area and it is what happens around many of the Finger Lakes, Moore explained. "The road parallel to the lake is a public road (e.g. County Road #, or town road, maybe there are even some state roads) and is maintained as is every other public road in that jurisdiction. The road that is generally perpendicular to the lake (sometimes it is an angle off) that then runs directly in front of the homes is a private road and is maintained privately by those who own the lakefront property. The fact that you are buying land on a private road should be noted on your deed." The entire town board and the highway superintendent have expressed empathy with the residents but Moore said, "To the extent any maintenance was provided in the past it was an error, but we have no authority to allow an error to continue. The determination made in 2005 that no further maintenance should be provided was correct and we are standing by it." A private road can become a public one if the owners ask that the road be dedicated. In other circumstances, the municipality can assume this responsibility, but, this requires a period of continuous maintenance and, whatever limited maintenance there was ended in 2005 and has continued through 2006. "This is a sticking point with the residents. One woman asked at a town board meeting was I saying what was done in the past, and she said it was done for decades, was wrong," Moore said. "I responded that because it is a private road to the extent anything was done in the past it was wrong and once we stopped we cannot start up again, knowing it was an error." In the past, residents say the gravel road has been graded, the shoulders have been mowed and it has been plowed in the winter. Robinson said she knew when they purchased the property that it was a private road but because it had been maintained for so many years, it wasn't an issue. "The whole town uses the road for jogging or bicycling," she said. The road is also home to an active CSX railroad track which is not marked by crossing lights. "This obviously is a difficult situation for both the residents and for the town," Moore said. "Riga is a small community and neighbors do care about the problems of their neighbors. This is one of the things that makes this such a great community. And, it makes it doubly hard to then tell a resident that while you are sympathetic to their issue, you do not have the authority to do anything to help them. And, that is the situation we find ourselves in regarding Gough Road." August 13, 2006 |
