Poughkeepsie's College Hill Park is now host to the mountains of snow that Public Works crews have been trucking out of the city's downtown district.

City officials said Wednesday that the dense snow mountains plowed onto street corners are a public safety issue.

The hills can block drivers' views, and it can trap — even injure — pedestrians.

News 12 cameras caught several falls and other struggles with the snow piles which have made parts of the city like a slippery maze.

Going by several interviews with residents over four hours Wednesday, the collective community's response to the city's massive snow mountain removal operation leans toward approval.

The first test was at the Bardavon Opera House on Market Street.

Hundreds of students from Poughkeepsie, Beacon and New Paltz were bused to the Bardavon Wednesday to see "The Hare and the Tortoise" in two groups for the 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. showtimes.

Bus drivers told News 12 they managed to enter and leave the city without incident and Bardvon staff said no students nor teachers slipped out front.

"They removed a bunch of snow yesterday, still working on it today," Bardavon House Manager Adelina Borman said on a quick break from coordinating the line of buses that stretched around the block. "The police department's helping us with getting buses parked, and it's been a great morning."

Social worker Tamesha Hall is not as impressed.

She was on a safari mid-day Wednesday trying to squeeze between a car and a 5-foot snow pile on Academy Street, to pick up her lunch order.

"I was just making a video on my phone," she said. "I had to go into the street. There was a car behind me. Then there was a little entrance for me to get right here."

Snow removal contractor Mike Van Tassel can hardly wait for the Academy Street snow piles to be trucked up to College Hill.

He said clients called to tell him the entrance to their basements on the sidewalk were covered again by the snow piles that grow with each passing plow truck.

Van Tassel said the snow quickly changed from pretty to ugly.

"I like it for the little kids. They like it," he said, "but then after it sits here for a week, it's dirty, but when it's first snowing it looks nice."

Other Public Works departments also have plans for their snow mountains.

In Kingston, the snow is trucked to Deitz Stadium.

Clarkstown's DPW moves the piles to Kings Park and Germonds Park, where the town supervisor expects them to stay for months until it finally melts.

A spokesperson for the City of Mount Vernon said its mountains of dirty leftover snow are being dropped at Hutch Field in a manner in which it cannot migrate into any navigable waterway.

He also expects the snow hills will be completely moved to Hutch Field by midday Saturday.

Beacon's city administrator said Wednesday DPW crews are moving snow from Main Street and municipal parking lots to a large lot by the wastewater treatment plant.

He expects the operation to be done late Thursday.

Poughkeepsie Mayor Yvonne Flowers said her city's tedious snow removal operation should last about a week.

None of the municipal leaders who responded to News 12's inquiry about snow removal said they dispose of snow in or near any local waterways.