Our View: City's snow-emergency designations are fair, necessary
If you’ve lived in Alliance for any length of time, you’ve heard grousing about snowy and impassable streets after winter storms.
In recent years, the city has attempted to address this issue by enforcing a parking ban based on the amount of snow that falls. Whenever two inches of snow or more falls in a 24-hour period, parking on any roads designated as emergency snow routes is not allowed. If four inches of snow or more fall in a 24-hour period, then parking on all city roads is prohibited.
Officials step gingerly with the ordinance, aware that some residents must park on the streets because they do not have driveways. This makes it challenging for those motorists who must make other arrangements for parking, sometimes in the middle of a heavy snow.
The ordinance is not capricious or malicious. It is designed to make it easier for snow plows to clear the streets, which in turn makes it easier for all other motorists and pedestrians to travel safely.
Earlier this week, even after the snow ban itself had been lifted following an impressive snowfall Sunday night and Monday, officials announced their intention to tow cars so that cleanup could continue.
In a Review story, Director of Public Safety and Services Michael Dreger noted that the cars targeted for towing were easy to spot. They were vehicles with large amounts of snow still on them, an indication they hadn’t been moved over the course of the storm.
Dreger also justified the decision to tow over the decision to ticket. Towing removed the cars faster, allowing for better cleaning. Ticketing did not.
Part of this decision was based on weather forecasts indicating rain and a later freezing.
What could city officials do differently? Possibly provide an empty lot or lots where people without driveways could park during snow emergencies. However, this raises issues of liability. It would also be inconvenient for motorists who would have to drive to such locations and then figure out how to get back home — on foot, with a friend, or by Uber — during what would likely be less-than-ideal weather.
One compliment we can pay is that the city did a better job with snow removal this time than it has in some past storms, especially given how rapidly the snow fell.
The same kudos can be offered to neighboring municipalities, where everyone was doing the best they could to keep up with a tough situation.
Ultimately, no perfect solution for snow removal exists. Residents who park on the street should always make arrangements about what to do when Mother Nature unleashes a real corker, as she indubitably did earlier this week.
The city’s 2- and 4-inch emergency designations are reasonable and fair, as is their determination to tow residents’ cars only when necessary.
This article originally appeared on The Alliance Review: Our View: City's snow-emergency designations are fair, necessary
