Most of the enormous snow walls that lined Park City streets from January through March have disappeared, but the ravages of last winter’s record-breaking snowstorms are still apparent. In many places whole swaths of sidewalk are missing, curbs have crumbled and fence posts are flattened. It is going to take a lot of patience and Yankee ingenuity to restore the town’s resort sheen in time for the summer season.

Throughout Summit County, snowplowing, salting and snow-removal-equipment maintenance decimated public-works budgets, leaving just a shoestring and some pocket change to clean up the mess.

So, for the time being, local motorists may have to tiptoe around the potholes and leave a little extra elbowroom for cyclists dodging rocks and other debris along the shoulder.

Also this spring, the county will not be offering free dumpsters. Though a countywide cleanup is as needed as ever, the once-a-year collection was apparently abused by contractors and others who stored their oversized junk just long enough to take advantage of the once-a-year free pickup. Instead of giving residents an incentive to collect roadside trash, the dumpsters were filled to overflowing with couches and construction waste.

Between high gas prices, hazardous-waste restrictions, shrinking landfill space and already maxed public-works budgets, it is easy to understand why the county had to curtail the free dumpster program. But residents should still make a concerted effort to pick up, sort and cart debris, not only on their own property but also along city and county roadways and trails.

There may be a silver lining to the end of the free-dumpster program. It may prompt people to think about recycling the stuff they normally throw away and perhaps even to think about buying fewer disposable items in the first place.