Highway Department
Description:
In the event of an after hours emergency, residents should call the Orchard Park Police at 662-6444.
The Town of Orchard Park Highway Department is located at 4350 South Taylor Road near the corner of Big Tree Road (Route 20A). The department’s hours are 7am to 3:30pm, Monday through Friday.
The Highway and Parks Department is responsible for services ranging from snowplowing and road repair to planting the flowers and trees you see in our parks.
The following information is intended to be helpful to residents and to enable the department and residents to work together to make the services being provided as effective and economical as possible.
Services:
Parks and Playgrounds
The Town of Orchard Park has eight parks/playgrounds located throughout the Town. Also, Erie County’s Chestnut Ridge Park is located on routes 240/277 in Orchard Park
Tree Planting Program
Each year the Town Forestry Department plants between 50 and 75 two-inch diameter trees in the Town right-of-way in the front of new built homes. Depending on the number of existing trees on the property, residents may be eligible for a tree. Eligible residents are entitled to one tree. Call the Highway Department with your request. The Town Forester is available to answer any questions residents may have regarding trees on Town or private property.
Street Sweeping
Weather permitting, the Highway Department begins sweeping Town roads around April 1, rotating the starting point each year. You can help by moving vehicles off the street when the sweeper comes through your area. Please do not put lawn loose raking, small shrubs and tree trimmings to the curb for the sweeper or after the streets are swept. They should be placed in proper containers for regular tree waste pick up as specified in the tree pick up guidelines below.
Snow Plowing
Regrettably, it is almost impossible for Town snowplowing crews to plow 100+ miles of road without doing some damage to property. Department workers come around in the spring to make repairs to lawns damaged by Town snowplows, reseeding them when topsoil becomes available. The Highway Department also repairs mailboxes damaged by Town snowplows. If a mailbox or mailbox post cannot be repaired, they will be replaced by standard metal rural mailbox and treated 4″ x 4″ wooden post.
New York State Highway and VMT law, sections 1219A and B, prohibit anyone from depositing snow or other items on public highway. Violators may receive fines up to $250.00.
Permits:
Working in the Right-of-Way of Town Roads – Anyone digging within the right-of-way of a Town road must obtain a Town of Orchard Park right-of-way permit (separate from a building permit) from the Town Clerk’s Office and have it at the job site while work is being done. Rules and regulations and specifications for back filling are provided with the permit. Any work done within the right-of-way of the Erie County Highway Department or New York State highway also requires a permit to be obtained from the respective entity. New York State Law also requires that, before digging commences, the Underground Facilities Protection Organization (UFPO) must be contacted at 1-800-962-7962 so that all utilities in the work area can be marked. This also applies to private property. This service is free. Invisible dog fencing, sprinkling systems, landscape rocks, timbers, shrubbery and trees should not be installed or planted in the right-of-way of Town roads.