Snow Route Parking Bans -- BAN Starting 9:00am Wednesday December 4th, 2013

[GGG]

Originally Posted by HockeyIlliterate

I, luckily, have an underground and heated parking space, but I wonder how effective the snow route parking bans really are when:

1) The City issues them well after the snowfall has ended, thereby making it difficult for some to actually move their cars (since, you know, they are snowed in...);

2) The owner of the car is on vacation or on a work trip out of the city, and, having left their car parked on the street, is now unable to move their car (since, you know, they aren't in Calgary at the moment and--quite possibly--won't be for some time); and

3) There is already a lack of adequate parking in the city, so where does the City expect those who have cars located in the now-banned parking areas to put them?

All in all, the snow parking bans strikes me as being a good idea in theory, but difficult to implement properly--particularly when it is implemented in such an irregular and ad hoc fashion.

1) Shovel your car out. Its day 3, there is no excuse to not have it out, if you wait until the plow goes by it gets burried in deeper. So unless you don't plan on using your car until the next chinook it should be dug out by now.

2) Cars are only to be left stationary on the street for 72hrs. Day 1 is the snowfall, Day 2 is primary routes, Day 3 is the parking ban day so if they are out of town there car shouldn't be on the street anyway.

3) I disagree there is a lack of adequate parking. Those in lane homes could have options using their back alley, those in Condos or town houses with out that option at worst could move their cars to a train station for the day or a side street off of the snow route.

I also disagree that it is implemented in an Ad Hoc or irregular fashion. It is issued after every major snowfall. Usually the 2nd day after it has stopped snowing. People on snow routes should know these things and have a plan to deal with it. The benefit of not plowing around cars is very large and worth the inconvenience to people who have to deal with it.

[4X4]

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

I support the snow route ban, but for tonight how can I plug my truck in if I can't park in front of my town home? It's going to be minus -28 overnight, well below plug in temperature for a diesel vehicle.

Park on your lawn!

[HockeyIlliterate]

Originally Posted by GGG

1) Shovel your car out. Its day 3, there is no excuse to not have it out, if you wait until the plow goes by it gets burried in deeper. So unless you don't plan on using your car until the next chinook it should be dug out by now.

I question how many cars are still stuck in the snow, despite one's best efforts to shovel it out. Your response also presumes that the owner of the car is physically capable of shoving the car out (although there is a handicap exemption, I question how those who are in the process of applying for such an exemption, but who have not yet received it, during a major snowfall are handled).

Originally Posted by GGG

2) Cars are only to be left stationary on the street for 72hrs. Day 1 is the snowfall, Day 2 is primary routes, Day 3 is the parking ban day so if they are out of town there car shouldn't be on the street anyway.

Without commenting on your hypothetical timeline, the City doesn't (strictly) enforce the 72 hour rule. I personally know of cars that have been left stationary for weeks and, even after reporting the matter to the City, nothing is done about it.

Originally Posted by GGG

3) I disagree there is a lack of adequate parking. Those in lane homes could have options using their back alley, those in Condos or town houses with out that option at worst could move their cars to a train station for the day or a side street off of the snow route.

Yes, of course, because the back alley doesn't have any snow on it or it was well-plowed, making it quite easy for one to move their car there, right? And, similarly, I'm sure that the side streets will likely have plenty of parking too.

I don't know about train station parking lot availability, but I do admit that the City Parkades allow for free overnight parking during a snow parking ban (or, at least, that is my understanding). Of course, getting to such a parkade and back home might be an issue....

Originally Posted by GGG

I also disagree that it is implemented in an Ad Hoc or irregular fashion. It is issued after every major snowfall.

And without defining what constitutes a "major snowfall," by its very nature the parking ban is implemented in an irregular and ad hoc fashion.

The City's own FAQs on the snow ban make that clear...by stating that "parking bans are generally reserved for the few days each year when there is a significant accumulation of snow throughout the city," and that the parking ban will be in effect city-wide, even if one particular area of the city didn't get a lot of snow.

The blanket implemention of a policy that is dependent upon the occurrence of an event that is not adequately defined in the policy itself does not allow for a regular or generalizable understanding of when the policy will be implemented.

[kevman]

Originally Posted by GGG

2) Cars are only to be left stationary on the street for 72hrs. Day 1 is the snowfall, Day 2 is primary routes, Day 3 is the parking ban day so if they are out of town there car shouldn't be on the street anyway.

That's a thing!? In all communities!?

Oh man if I had a nickel for every time my truck didn't move for 3 days...

[RedMileDJ]

I counted 3 parking patrol cars in Martindale, this afternoon. They were handing out tickets like crazy.

Yes...let's ticket that car that is under 4 feet of snow for not moving. F-ing brilliant! What a cash cow!

[burn_this_city]

Originally Posted by 4X4

Park on your lawn!

I would if those damn kids would stay off it.

[Reaper]

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

I support the snow route ban, but for tonight how can I plug my truck in if I can't park in front of my town home? It's going to be minus -28 overnight, well below plug in temperature for a diesel vehicle.

Heating pads for your back taped to the oil pan and engine block then backed in aluminum foil.

[burn_this_city]

Originally Posted by Reaper

Heating pads for your back taped to the oil pan and engine block then backed in aluminum foil.

Good idea, but that's going to be a pain to put on and remove in the morning, I'd need a creeper with snow tires.

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by Red-Mile-DJ

Yes...let's ticket that car that is under 4 feet of snow for not moving. F-ing brilliant! What a cash cow!

Maybe that person will think twice about leaving their car on the street during a blizzard.

Does it suck? Yes. But the whole point is to allow crews to remove snow from the streets. What you are saying is that area shouldn't be cleared because of the fact that it really needs to be cleared.

A big part of the issue here is that people don't use their own parking in this city, to the extent that it causes issues for people trying to use the roads. On my street I'd say about 1/4 of all people have gotten rid of their parking pads to have bigger yards. Other people use their garages for storage instead of parking cars, and rely on parking outside.

If you want to have more vehicles than you have parking for, a few times per year it's going to be a little more difficult than if you had enough parking. That's the price you have to pay.

[RedMileDJ]

I completely agree with you. All the cars I saw getting tickets, have other places to park (garages, parking pads, etc), I just think it's funny that people still haven't clued in.

Luckily, I'm not one of them, as I don't like on a bus route.

[Reaper]

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

Good idea, but that's going to be a pain to put on and remove in the morning, I'd need a creeper with snow tires.

Some sort of battery powered incandescent light bulb would do the trick. Lay it on the engine block and leave it on all night. We used to do the "poor man's block heater" all the time with a naked 100 watt bulb lamp under the hood.

[burn_this_city]

Originally Posted by Reaper

Some sort of battery powered incandescent light bulb would do the trick. Lay it on the engine block and leave it on all night. We used to do the "poor man's block heater" all the time with a naked 100 watt bulb lamp under the hood.

I'll try that. Days like today make me wish I had a webasto heater under the hood.

[Acey]

I've heard from a few people that if the car looked impossible to move and well buried, no tickets were issued. Don't know if there's any truth to that.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by GGG

3) I disagree there is a lack of adequate parking. Those in lane homes could have options using their back alley, those in Condos or town houses with out that option at worst could move their cars to a train station for the day or a side street off of the snow route.

Back alleys are often not accessable due to the amount of snow.

As for side streets, depending on the amount of snow that is not always an option.

Then you have the seniors that don't have the mobility to dig thier vehicles out so they can be moved.

[Jimmy Stang]

Originally Posted by HockeyIlliterate

1) The City issues them well after the snowfall has ended, thereby making it difficult for some to actually move their cars (since, you know, they are snowed in...);

When the snow is still falling, the crews are busy ensuring that the main roads are clear for travel. Once the snow stops and the main roads are clear, the focus shifts to the residential roads. Why inconvenience people for 1-2 days longer than necessary if there's zero chance of getting to their road with a plow anyway?

The citizens of Calgary, and the media of course, don't seem to separate the two very different concepts : storm response and snow removal. Snow removal shouldn't begin until the storm response is complete.

Originally Posted by HockeyIlliterate

2) The owner of the car is on vacation or on a work trip out of the city, and, having left their car parked on the street, is now unable to move their car (since, you know, they aren't in Calgary at the moment and--quite possibly--won't be for some time); and

I said this in another thread, and I'm not trying to be too repetitive : I got an email alert about a snow route ban while in England (my parents live on a snow route, and were with me at the time), and within minutes their neighbour had moved their vehicle. It was extremely easy using the internet, the phone, and a helpful neighbour.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

I support the snow route ban, but for tonight how can I plug my truck in if I can't park in front of my town home? It's going to be minus -28 overnight, well below plug in temperature for a diesel vehicle.

I remember a few years back where some guy used a tin foil pan and put some lighted BBQ charcoal in it and placed it under his engine block. He had no problems starting his vehicle the next morn.

[4X4]

Originally Posted by Dion

I remember a few years back where some guy used a tin foil pan and put some lighted BBQ charcoal in it and placed it under his engine block. He had no problems starting his vehicle the next morn.

Sounds like a real boy scout. You won't catch me putting lit anything underneath my truck. I'd rather it freeze, and have to boost it.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by 4X4

Sounds like a real boy scout. You won't catch me putting lit anything underneath my truck. I'd rather it freeze, and have to boost it.

I should clarify my previous post. He waited to charcoal bricks had turned white before he put them under his vehicle.

[ricosuave]

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

I support the snow route ban, but for tonight how can I plug my truck in if I can't park in front of my town home? It's going to be minus -28 overnight, well below plug in temperature for a diesel vehicle.

Make sure you pick up some of this too
http://www.powerservice.com/d911/

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by Acey

500 tickets so far, as per Global... has me wondering if they're giving enough notice/doing a good enough job of communicating it.

Are you saying that there are some people that didn't notice it snowed?