Wiscasset Town Manager John O’Connell has responded to concerns citizens voiced to selectmen Jan. 21 about the town’s sidewalks.

In a memo dated Jan. 27 and sent to Wiscasset Newspaper and posted at wiscasset.org, O’Connell said this winter has presented the usual challenges, including storms, snow drifts, ice melt and refreezing. He praised the Public Works Department, who he said “deals with it all with professionalism, good humor, and long hours of plowing. They keep the roads open for all kinds of traffic – commuters, school buses, police, fire and ambulance emergency traffic, (allowing) us to get around to do our various routines.”

O’Connell said keeping the streets open is the priority, and can take three passes of the plows. After that, Public Works plows and cleans up sidewalks downtown and near the schools. “These are the ones most often used by pedestrians,” he wrote. He said other sidewalks may not be plowed for days, and in some streets, where the winter sun doesn’t strike the sidewalks, ice and snow build up and it is very hard to have the sidewalks clear at all times.

It has been customary for the owner of a business to clear the sidewalk in front of the business; O’Connell said some buildings are not in use in the winter. Because people who spoke at the meeting were most concerned with sidewalk conditions, the town applied an existing ordinance about water from roofs and protection from falling ice and snow, which requires the town to take action if the sidewalk is dangerous, he said.

“If the situation creates a safety hazard, barriers will be placed on the affected road or sidewalk,” he said. He said more ordinance work, for sidewalk maintenance, will have to be done at some point.

O’Connell said that regardless of the conditions, Public Works will continue to get the job done. “They continue to earn the appreciation and good wishes of the Town of Wiscasset all year round,” he wrote.