That's a really good point about the public/private road. We'll have to ask the real estate agent about that, both for this specific house, and the concept in general. As in, does that mean we have to pay to get it plowed? How does it affect home values? Etc. Etc. What makes me think it's not the case for this one, is that this city has quite a few private roads, but there's always a sign saying as much and more often than not, they're in newer subdivisions or cul-de-sacs. This is a pretty old neighborhood, so I can't imagine it being private.
I may be wrong, but "Private Road" is a specific classification of a street, that absolves the city/county from any maintenance responsibilities. Plowing, filling potholes, repaving, plumbing the street with gas, repairing common drainage, etc.
I talked to the real estate agent yesterday. Apparently for our city, there's some kind of trust that residents on private roads join to put money in for maintenance. Sounds reasonable. Also sounds like something I don't want to do. So thanks for pointing out that this is a thing!