Town providing services on private road

[mlantz]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? New York

I just moved into a house on a private road. According to the town and the residents on the road, a couple of facts are known;

The town is not supposed to maintain the road
The town is not supposed to provide snow removal services

When I moved in, the only road maintenance the town was providing for the road was plowing. They've plowed a couple snow storms since I've been living here. From neighbors, I've come to learn that the town has been plowing the road for 20+ years. Recently a neighbor accused the town that one of the town plows damaged their parked car. The highway superintendent stated that he would no longer provide snow clearing services due to the alleged accident being reported.

My question is how long does this service need to be provided by the town before we could use the past practice argument? After how much time does it now become their responsibility to continue the plowing? At what point does past practice obligate the town?

Thanks for any feedback.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

 

[justalayman]

they can stop whenever they choose to. You couldn't force them to plow the public roads let alone a private road they were plowing to be nice.