Post Office Says Its Snow to be Removed from Sidewalk Wednesday

Snow that was pushed from in front of the South Hamilton post office and piled several feet high on the Railroad Avenue sidewalk will be removed on Wednesday, a post office spokeswoman said.

Bay Road resident Bob Gray contacted town officials and Hamilton-Wenham Patch on Tuesday with photos showing a snowbank blocking the Railroad Avenue sidewalk with snow that was pushed from in front of the post office.

"Apparently the contractor we used to plow plowed it there but it will be removed tomorrow," U.S. Postal Service spokeswoman Christine Dugas said on Tuesday afternoon. "I appreciate the customer bringing it to our attention."

It's not the first time Gray has raised concern about snow piled up on the downtown sidewalks. Two years ago, during a very snowy winter, Gray wrote to Patch with concern about snow that had not been removed from the Railroad Avenue sidewalks. In some cases, snow had been pushed onto the sidewalk and Gray said the post office "was the biggest offender."

He also shared photos he took in February 2011 showing the Railroad Avenue sidewalk blocked by a snowbank near the post office in much the same way it was blocked this week.

Gray said his concern dates back to when he owned a hardware store in Melrose.

"When it snowed I realized very quickly that if I wanted to make it easy for my customers to get to my store I needed to keep the sidewalks cleared and make it easy for them to park on the street and get onto the sidewalks and into my store," he said.

Gray said he was the only merchant to clear a path from the street to the sidewalk at every parking meter.

"You have to be a city boy to understand that when you park on the street you also have to be able to get onto the sidewalk," he said.

Gray said he is conscious of the blocked sidewalks because of hisu service background and realize that "as I get older that it is very difficult to get around; Experience is the best teacher."