Snow -Snow-Snow & Personal Responsibility

Sounds like we may be in for some snow. Just a reminder that the city’s winter parking ban prohibits vehicle parking on streets from 2 am to 6 am every day, snow or no snow. If we get the snow amounts forecast, plows will be out and our officers will be tagging and towing vehicles. You may want to check local news in case a snow emergency is called. In that case, vehicles may not park on streets until the snow emergency is lifted.

You can call the Street Department at 645-3050 or our police department office at 645-4477 if you have questions.

I recently received a letter from an individual who was concerned that most of the “law-abiding” citizens were working to remove their vehicles from the streets as per the ordinance only to see some misguided neighbors parking on the street. He was a bit concerned that officers were not ticketing all the vehicles in Northfield.

This raises a good point. Often regulatory signs are erected without consideration to the impact of the increased demand on existing police staffing levels and a heightened community expectation of enforcement. It’s an issue I raise every time another no parking zone is posted or other regulations go into place that require additional police enforcement/education.

The basis of parking enforcement is much the same as other laws. The expectation is that there will be voluntary compliance by the members of the community. Most of the time this is what happens and I appreciate the willingness most everyone displays to follow the ordinances and laws.

For those who chose to disregard ordinances, the odds are that eventually they will be identified. In the case of disregarding winter parking bans several things may happen:

1. They will be ticketed

2. They may have their vehicle towed and impounded

3. Both 1&2 can happen

4. The snow plow will come by, bury the vehicle and it will still get a ticket and probably eventually be towed since it will be difficult to dig out which will result in a substantially higher tow bill for the vehicle owner.

5. The vehicle may be struck while snowbound by another vehicle or a snowplow.

Seems to me none of these are very attractive.

I generally receive about an equal number of letters and telephone calls from individuals who are upset because we are issuing parking tickets and those who are upset because they don’t think we are issuing enough parking tickets. I suppose it depends on your perspective. In talking to my peers in other cities, winter parking issues generally cause more consternation than nearly any other kind of enforcement activity. This year’s lack of snow hasn’t helped with respect to keeping residents and visitors mindful of the need for parking restrictions in snowbelt states in the winter.

Street crews tell me that the problem with allowing parking even when there is no snow is that a quick accumulation of snow in the middle of the night means they have to get out and start clearing streets. Illegally parked vehicles wind up snowbound and then we get calls as does the street department, from angry people who had parked illegally on the street who are now upset because their cars are snowbound or were towed.

As I’ve previously mentioned, we post notices on vehicles prior to the November 15th effective date. We post notices in the local print media, and provide it to other media outlets. The information generally goes out in utility bills and we post notices at public buildings around town, including both college campuses. Overall, we expend a considerable amount of time and financial resources to the education and enforcement component to try to ensure our streets remain safe.

As in most community matters, it ultimately boils down to individual responsibility….

Ok, time to stop so I can go out and make sure I can find my snow shovel.

About Gary Smith

Chief Smith has served over 31 years in the criminal justice field. He is currently a consultant assisting public and private organizations better establish community goals and ethical conduct with the members of their organizations. Chief Smith serves as a facilitator, lecturer, professor and other capacities both inside and outside the criminal justice field.
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