Street department issues winter reminders

The Brainerd Street Department is now preparing for winter and the upcoming plowing season.

Officials said now is a good time for residents to take a look at their mailboxes and posts. Check for obvious damage, such as cracked boards or posts, missing screws, etc. Also, look below ground level to make sure the post is still in good condition. A rotted post will not stand up to a Minnesota winter very long and repairs are more difficult after the ground has frozen. The department cannot be responsible for mailboxes knocked down as a result of snow thrown off a plow onto a weak post.

The street department also asks residents to refrain from putting trash cans in or near the street right-of-way during plow season. Snowplow operators want to clear the streets obstacles such as trash cans need to be kept out of the way.

Parents are asked to make sure their children's snow fort is set well back from the street and driveway. It is dangerous to build snow forts in the mounds of snow left by plowing as plow operators may return to push the snow farther back on the street. Snow piled in cul-de-sacs will be scheduled for removal and could be dangerous when used for snow forts.

Snowplow operators do their best to ensure that streets are cleared of snow and ice, but they need property owners to do their part by blowing, shoveling or plowing the snow onto their own property or on the boulevard area adjacent to their property - not in the street. Snow deposited in the right-of-ways becomes compacted and can freeze into large lumps of ice on the street.

If a truck with its plow down catches these unexpected lumps of ice, it can spin the truck around, break the plow off the truck or send the truck out of control - all dangerous situations. Large mounds of ice left on the streets also can be a hazard for the traveling public, so help out by keeping it out of the street.