Snow Parking Restrictions Under Discussion
Snow budget nearly depleted.
Snow has dominated the town in the last six weeks and dominated the Town Council's brief workshop meeting Tuesday evening.
Westfield has been buried in over five feet of snow and ice during the brutal winter season, flaring tempers of residents regarding snow removal and traffic patterns around schools. The Department of Public Works and Council members have been in discussions since the Dec. 26 blizzard on how to handle the snow and the near-depletion of the town's snow removal budget.
The town's $140,000 snow budget has virtually disppeared in the storms, with $130,000 spent on overtime and salt, including the December blizzard. Town Administrator Jim Gildea said the town is hoping to offset the blizzard costs through an application for emergency funds from FEMA. The town's application for federal emergency aid is currently pending in Washington.
With snow removal being one of the most talked about topics in town, Councilman Frank Arena, the chairman of the Public Works Committee, said the town is looking at ways to speed up removal. He said the first area would be tackling moving cars off the road in advance of storms. Public Works Superintendent Claude Schaffer told Patch prior to the blizzard that parked cars delay plowing efforts on streets in heavier snows and damage cars.
"One immeadiate improvement we can make for the next snowstorm is to have everyone park their cars in their driveway or garage," Arena said, noting this would allow plows to move down streets faster.
Several other ideas were being discussed for those who cannot park every car they have in a driveway or garage. Some of these ideas were alternate side of the street parking on select streets. These ideas were all in the early stages but all aimed to take cars off the streets so that the roads could be cleared faster.
In other business, the Council learned of a $190,000 grant from the state Transportation Trust Fund to repave portions of Boulevard this year. The grant is long awaited, with the first plans to repave the street made in June 2009 and the town included as a priority in the current capital plan. The Council also approved the closing of streets near Gumbert Park on April 2 for the annual Liam's Room Olympics.
What are your thoughts on parked cars on streets during snow storms?
Tell us in the comments.
In This article
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Mayor of Westfield
425 E Broad St, Westfield, NJ -
Westfield Department of Public Works
959 North Avenue W, Westfield, NJ -
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South Westfielder
7:08 am on Thursday, February 10, 2011
To the Westfield Town Council: please seriously consider requiring Westfield residents with private driveways or parking spaces to remove their cars from the streets in advance of a storm. The number of people on my street alone who have caused plows to steer around them during each of the storms we received since December is amazing to me! In one case, an intersection could only accommodate one car at a time because the plows had to move around a car parked near it. This created a dangerous situation for weeks.
Joe O
7:58 am on Thursday, February 10, 2011
That is an unfortunate situation, however every home may not be able to accommodate every car. My neighbor for instance has four cars, but only three can fit in his driveway. So what is he to do with the fourth car? Also if the town "requires" residents to park in their driveway how does one enforce that, you really can't.
Most winters in Westfield are moderate at best, this year happens to be severe in terms of snowfall. I would just recommend we all make due with the situation Spring will be here soon enough.
The town should concentrate on filling all the post Winter apocalypse pot holes, and working on a way to reduce our tax burden!
concerned
10:48 am on Thursday, February 10, 2011
Just keep writing more traffic tickets to cover the cost of snow removal and excessive salaries of our elected officials.
DG
11:40 am on Thursday, February 10, 2011
Alternate side is a good idea. So is the concept of having folks park at their nearest school parking lot, especially after hours and on weekends.
Lisa B
11:44 am on Thursday, February 10, 2011
Common sense dictates getting your cars off the street before a big snow. Doesn't mean everybody does it. The law dictates clearing the sidewalk adjacent to your property within 24 hours of a snowfall. Doesn't mean everybody does it... or that it is ever enforced... and that already is a law.
august west
4:12 pm on Thursday, February 10, 2011
I'm new to Westfield, but a life long NJ resident. I've lived in Bergen, Hudson, Morris and Monmouth counties prior to now. Westfield hands down has done the worst job with snow removal of any place I've lived. i'm shocked by how icy the roads have been, even days after the storms.
I'm also surpised that a town like Westfield allows overnight street parking. If you can afford 4 cars and they don't fit in your driveway, it's time to buy a house with a bigger driveway.
Jill Sitcer
9:12 pm on Thursday, February 10, 2011
How about placing temporary no parking signs where the cars parked in the snow make the road too narrow. My street could use some. Also, ticket cars parked on the street in the snow for many weeks becaused they are blocking plowing. I hope the Council will strongly encourage residents to move cars off the street prior to a storm.
Tom baker
6:59 pm on Sunday, February 20, 2011
I agree that cars need to be off the road to facilitate snow removal. In addition to alternate side parking, residents should be required to pay for a permit to keep their car on one side of the street during a snow situation. The streets around WHS were very dangerous. The town should consider making some streets oneway only during theses situations.