Those living on private roads are left out in the cold every winter as town crews aren’t authorized to plow those streets. And now some residents have sought relief following what appears to be a never ending winter.

People living on Inland Road met with Selectmen at the board’s Tuesday, March 4 meeting to request plow service.

“This has been a particularly brutal winter with a lot of snow,” said the group’s spokesman Al Caron.

He noted the street already is served by the U.S. Postal Service, utility providers, municipal trash and water, and Department of Public Works crews cut vegetation in spring and summer.

“The only service we don’t get in winter is plowing,” Caron said, adding that residents pay to clear the street.

Inland Road is one of roughly 50 private roads in Marion.

State law allows cities and towns to plow private roads without making them public ways; however, municipalities can’t pick and choose which ones to plow.

In order to get service, Inland Road residents would need to secure a petition of 200 registered voters. After that a ballot question would be voted on at town election.

If approved, then all private roads would need to be plowed. Selectmen said the cost to the town may be prohibitive.

“It’s important to know that if we did that there’s a large monetary component,” Selectman Stephen Cushing said. “This isn’t just Inland Road.”

Some private roads aren’t eligible for plow service because regulations requiring developers to follow state highway guidelines weren’t in place when those subdivisions were built. The bylaw would limit the town’s insurance liability when plowing.

Mattapoisett passed a similar bylaw five years ago.

Caron said the group wanted the street to be treated like any other public way.

“We don’t want to own the road,” he said. “We are very clear about that.”

Board members voted to take the matter under advisement. They also instructed Town Administrator Paul Dawson to compile  a list of the town’s private roads and how many miles they totaled.