Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
This was a lot of it. Also, this storm wasn't a surprise, we had 6 or 7 days warning in this area. So people who insisted on parking on the No Parking, Snow Emergency Routes deserved ticketing and towing.
As it was, regular parking enforcement off the Emergency Routes was suspended for several days.
I have no idea why this is so hard for some of you people to understand. And it should be said that both North Beach and I live near Washington DC.
Snow Emergency Routes are just that, routes that are prioritized during a bad snow. And this was a doozy. As posted above we all had nearly a week to prepare, we knew exactly what was coming and when. If you are going to selfishly park in a snow emergency route, and hinder the city's ability to clear the most important roads for ambulances etc, you deserve a ticket and a tow. Especially when their are signs clearly stating this all over the route.
I have no idea why this is so hard for some of you people to understand. And it should be said that both North Beach and I live near Washington DC.
Snow Emergency Routes are just that, routes that are prioritized during a bad snow. And this was a doozy. As posted above we all had nearly a week to prepare, we knew exactly what was coming and when. If you are going to selfishly park in a snow emergency route, and hinder the city's ability to clear the most important roads for ambulances etc, you deserve a ticket and a tow. Especially when their are signs clearly stating this all over the route.
What also should be noted is that the State Highway Administrations in both Maryland and Virginia were towing abandoned/parked cars off the Emergency Routes as well as the individual Counties doing the same.
For some reason or another, people in this area abandon their cars along the road (and in some cases on the road) whenever the weather gets bad while they're driving.
I have no idea why this is so hard for some of you people to understand. And it should be said that both North Beach and I live near Washington DC.
Snow Emergency Routes are just that, routes that are prioritized during a bad snow. And this was a doozy. As posted above we all had nearly a week to prepare, we knew exactly what was coming and when. If you are going to selfishly park in a snow emergency route, and hinder the city's ability to clear the most important roads for ambulances etc, you deserve a ticket and a tow. Especially when their are signs clearly stating this all over the route.
This. A hundred times this.
I'm not denying that there is plenty of corruption to be had in Washington. But this isn't it. It is very clearly known that parking on a snow emergency route is illegal during a snow emergency, and anyone who does it is subject to being ticketed and towed.
Incidentally, this is what the signs look like in DC. Seems pretty clear to me.
To be sure, it's very hard to find a place to park a car when the spaces along the snow emergency routes become unavailable. So in that regard, I do sympathize with the vehicle owners. I'm not sure what can be done about this. But even so, the fact remains that if you normally park on a snow emergency route, you have to move your car before the snow starts, or else the city will do it for you.
This is hardly newsworthy to anyone that lives in a northern city. Parking laws are there not just for convenience; there are also important safety laws that are a part of them. I mean, it really stinks for the car owners, but if everyone parks two or three feet into the roadway, how is the firetruck or ambulance supposed to get through?. And, if the car is left in the road way, that is unfortunate for the driver, but the city should be towing it.
Are people reading? They're ticketing because they have a snow emergency road plan in which they are attempting to clear all roads curb to curb, difficult after this much snow, I would know because my NJ town got 30 inches and we have narrowly plowed roads too. There's simply nowhere for the snow to go in some areas. My town has been banning driving past 11 pm on a couple nights to do the same and we also have parking rules in effect during massive snow storms.
Days after a blizzard, there is no excuse for anyone's car to be snowed in on the street - or "abandoned" as DC is calling it. Cleaning up the cars now would just mean more snow tossed into the streets, which is counter productive. If people would adhere to the rules, and move their cars and clear then off when needed, they wouldn't be getting ticketed and towed. No sympathy from me.
Specifically, these people tried to drive in the snow and got stuck in the road. These aren't folks that are in a parking zone that expired.
They should have stayed home. It's not like this was a flash flood that came out of nowhere. We knew about it for at least a week ahead of time. They deserve to have their cars towed and to get a ticket. Their cars being in the way kept those roads from being plowed and it affected a lot of other people.
Days after a blizzard, there is no excuse for anyone's car to be snowed in on the street - or "abandoned" as DC is calling it. Cleaning up the cars now would just mean more snow tossed into the streets, which is counter productive. If people would adhere to the rules, and move their cars and clear then off when needed, they wouldn't be getting ticketed and towed. No sympathy from me.
But at the same time, if someone lives in a dense city neighborhood with primarily street parking, where are they supposed to move their cars during a snow emergency to get them off the street?
I get that people who are trying to drive during a blizzard and end up abandoning their cars in the middle of the street should be fined for it, that's on them. Expecting city neighborhoods to be vacant of cars in the middle of a storm is something else.
We knew a week out a major storm was coming, and approximately how much snow was expected. Still people parked illegally preventing the streets from being plowed (which is netting major complaints as well).
So OP, if you're living on a street with 2' of snow that has yet to see a plow, would you still give them a break for parking illegally?
Quote:
Originally Posted by fleetiebelle
But at the same time, if someone lives in a dense city neighborhood with primarily street parking, where are they supposed to move their cars during a snow emergency to get them off the street?
That is one of reasons why I live in the burbs and wouldn't consider living in the city. While inconvenient (and can be costly), there are options such as moving a vehicle to a parking garage or a different location just before the storm hits and then take a taxi/uber/metro home if necessary.
Bottom line, if one is going to live in the city and park on a Snow Emergency Route regularly, they should have a plan in place for when there is an emergency.
Last edited by HokieFan; 01-28-2016 at 10:10 AM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
