Yesterday, a press release from the Mayor’s office announced that beginning at 0700 on Tuesday, “DPW crews [would] start to pre-treat and plow” and “as many as 40 city vehicles” would be “available for snow removal, including converted sanitation trucks.” The email also included somewhat enigmatic bits of information, such as the statement that about $200,000 of the $730,206 snow removal budget had been already plowed away, yet this fact was followed by Mayor Segarra being quoted as saying “Snow removal is not the budget breaker. No matter what, we will continue to put the safety of our residents first and roads, especially those along emergency routes, must and will be cleared.” This quote seems, somehow, out of context. Were there concerns that the City of Hartford would use up the snow removal budget and begin to drain other resources? None of this is clarified within the mostly useless press release, which also tells us “A parking ban is expected; exact hours will be announced.”
Other than including details about which shelters are open, this correspondence used a lot of words to say “we just don’t know what we’re going to do.” Maybe I lost my patience for this thirty inches of snow ago, but at this stage of the season, it seems like we should be able to expect better preparation. This is not to say all roads need to be immediately cleared, only that some of the items we can control should be dealt with more expertly.The first thing that comes to mind is the parking ban. While common sense dictates that if we’re getting another dumping of snow and all public schools in a fifty miles radius are closed, people should remove their vehicles from the street and place them in the school parking lot (or in driveways). This enables trucks to plow the snow better, making it possible for emergency vehicles to drive down the roads. Yes, even those who do not drive or drive sporadically benefit in this way. But, not everyone has the common sense to just make life easier instantly, so they need to be told. It has been snowing steadily since early this morning and is only expected to get worse, but all I hear is that there will be a press release at 11:30. Instead of doing the reasonable thing of ordering cars get moved off the streets while driving is still a fairly simple task, people (the same ones who have to be told to actually shovel and make curb cuts) are being left to make their own decisions about matters that affect more than just themselves.
So, today, two hours after the scheduled press conference on blizzards and such, I finally received a message from the City of Hartford:
(February 1, 2011) — Hartford Mayor Pedro E. Segarra says the City’s snow storm strategy encompasses plowing during the storm and removing mounds well after the last snowflake falls.
Right now, 25 trucks are clearing streets, with special emphasis on snow emergency routes. City Hall will have a staggered employee dismissal starting at 2pm today. After careful monitoring of the storm, a decision will be made regarding the opening and/or closing of City Hall tomorrow.
A City-wide parking ban goes into effect at 3pm Tuesday, February 1st, and will remain in effect until 4am on Thursday, February 3rd— but this time could change depending on the length and intensity of the storm Public School parking lots can be used to park vehicles but must be removed within one hour of the parking ban being lifted.
Due to the inclement weather, the parking ban, and the potential closing of City Hall on Wednesday, the last day to pay City property taxes has been extended until Thursday, February 3rd. A late penalty will not be applied until Friday, February 4th. Also delayed is trash and recyclable pick up starting Wednesday. (Wednesday’s scheduled pick up will be Thursday, and so on).
No State of Emergency is in effect at this time. Less than $200,000 remains in the City’s $730,206 snow removal budget. Hartford has applied, through the State, for Federal FEMA funds regarding the January 11th storm. During the last storm, the City requested, and received, State resources in the form of assistance in plowing state roads and in the areas of state-owned properties. After this storm, the City will consider transferring up to $250,000 in local funds held in reserve from cost-saving measures taken earlier in the year.
The special snow blower truck and a snow melting truck will be utilized once from the end of the storm through the weekend in order to clear streets, reduce snow mounds, increase street parking, and— most importantly— keep people safe.
“We have been very fiscally prudent with our spending of snow removal funds, but we will not sacrifice public safety. No matter what, clean-up and snow removal procedures will continue. If the snow removal budget runs out, I reserve the right to go before City Council to transfer funds in order to replenish that budget. Safety must and will come first,” said Mayor Segarra.
For those who need to find refuge from the severe winter weather, the following warming centers are open: Immaculate Conception (Regular shelter & overflow) 560 Park Street, Hartford; McKinney Shelter 34 Huyshope Avenue, Hartford; Mercy Housing and Shelter St. Elizabeth House 118 Main Street, Hartford; Open Hearth Shelter 437 Sheldon Street, Hartford; Salvation Army/ Marshall House (Regular shelter & overflow) 224 South Marshall Street, Hartford.
This was followed twenty minutes later by this:
THE PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR, FIRE CHIEF AND POLICE CHIEF OF THE CITY OF HARTFORD ANNOUNCE THAT DUE TO THE FORECASTED WEATHER CONDITIONS A LEVEL 2 PARKING BAN IS DECLARED IN THE CITY OF HARTFORD STARTING TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2011 AT 3PM ENDING THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2011 AT 4AM
Depending on the circumstances, the parking ban may be extended or changed. During a LEVEL 2 parking ban ALL PARKING on City streets is banned. Any vehicle parked on a city street is subject to tag and tow and this will be enforced by the Hartford Police Department.
If your car is ticketed and towed, information on its location may be obtained by calling the HPD Record’s Division at (860) 757-4150 between the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Please have either the VIN (Vehicular Identification Number) or the license plate number available. You will be given the name of the company that towed your vehicle, their telephone number and your tow number. In order to avoid or minimize storage fees,
please pick up your vehicle as soon as possible. Storage fees begin to accrue after 24 hours. The tow charge is $108.00.The $99.00 snow emergency violation ticket is separate and payable to the Hartford Parking Authority.
Residents may park their cars in Hartford Public School parking lots but must move them within one hour of the parking ban being over so that crews can clear snow from the lots and students and staff can get to class.
Property owners and occupants: please be reminded to shovel the sidewalk and walkways— including curb cuts— for pedestrian safety. Please also clear away snow from fire hydrants. Please do not shovel or plow the snow back into the street.
Again, we can not prevent it from snowing and there’s only so much that can happen within a budget, but we do have the ability to respond and prepare. After weeks and weeks of non-stop snow, it seems we should have these procedural matters down to a science and not be needing to wait hours into a storm before decide whether or not we want to make residents move cars in order to effectively clear the streets.
UPDATE: The following message was sent on 2/2/11 from the City of Hartford and represents a change in time for the parking ban end.
As a result of the fast moving second-half of this double barrel storm— that brought snow, sleet and freezing rain to the city and region— and the ability of our crews to keep pace of this latest blast of winter, the parking ban in the City of Hartford has changed and will now end sooner— at 9:00 p.m. tonight (Wednesday, February 2). This is 7 hours earlier than originally planned.
Richard
“We have been very fiscally prudent with our spending of snow removal funds, but we will not sacrifice public safety. No matter what, clean-up and snow removal procedures will continue.” Safety must and will come first,” said Mayor Segarra.
Why then Mr. Mayor are folks in wheel chairs still waiting in the street for the bus? Why aren’t curb cuts made on city sidewalks so those who can’t climb over snowbanks can get on the sidewalk safely? Sounds like a show with really no go.
Sorry sir perhaps you should use some of your hot air to melt the snow.
Kerri Provost
I saw a kid almost do a faceplant yesterday because she couldn’t get out of the street and back onto sidewalk easily.
Maggie
I live on Bliss St. I have been calling/emailing constituent services repeatedly to beg, plead that the city finish plowing my street…I have not received a response from the city even acknowledging my complaint. As a result, where my city at once could have at least 25 parking spots, we are now relegated to the few which are carved out of the snow banks left behind by plows. We are a small one way street and certainly not located anywhere near downtown, and our workers aren’t commuting out of the city, but we are voters voting in the next elections. For far too long I have heard this administration more concerned with commuters and downtown than we the “constituents” “residents” of Hartford. Hartford will never have the respect it deserves if it can not give respect to its own residents.
Kerri Provost
Thanks for your comment. I hope the right people read it.
Kerri Provost
Maggie,
Is there room enough for a firetruck to make it down the street or is it too obstructed for that?
Maggie
Kerri, that is an excellent and terrifying question I had not considered. I think it would be an incredibly tight fit where one poorly parked car would block the entire street. (this happened the other night when a friend came over and was blocked from entering the street because a police car blocked the entrance to pick up Chinese food)
Josh LaPorte
It seems seriously nuts that you need to remove your car from the school parking lot within one hour of the lifting of the parking ban, and the parking ban is scheduled to be lifted at 4AM. So you need to remove your car by 5AM on Thursday? Does anyone with common sense read the press release before releasing it?
Kerri Provost
When I saw that I felt very fortunate to have off-street parking.
BWP
I just bought a house in the West End, moving from Glastonbury… Sadly, much of what is said of the city’s incompetence has turned out to be true…. no enforcement of the parking ban (It would be nice for the City to clarify what the different levels of parking bans are)… 311 is basically a joke, I have submitted several tickets and not heard a word, the phone line never answers…. very sad. I work for local government in a neighboring municipality, and although there are certainly problems, Hartford takes the cake, hands down, for poor performance. Thanks for the good blog. – BWP
BWP
I should add the our family is very excited to be living in Hartford though, the community and feel beat Glastonbury hands down (local governmental management notwithstanding!).
D. Angela
The larger question is why in a city, with all its problems, paying someone to prepare confusing press releases to the public. If the Mayor’s office spoke with one voice – after collaboration with DPW, State of CT DOT and related agencies, as was done before the onset of the Perez regime, there would be improvement in clearing our streets, maintaining our parks and playgrounds. etc.. Calling Constituent Services is a joke. Unless Hartford residents demand more of its government, we will continue to be served by those who truly believe they don’t have to answer to us. There is no option to recall government officials or demand accountability after they are voted into office. Thanks to Charter Reform advocates city departments are run by voice mail with department heads and their deputies feeding at the city’s trough with fat salaries, bonuses, lifetime medical benefits after 5 years of service, while laying off employees who provide actual services to its residents.
Kerri Provost
You nailed it. When I inquired about how to get attention brought to streets that had not been plowed since the last storm (not yesterday’s, but the one last week) the response was that the DPW wasn’t “taking orders from reading websites.” We’re told to use 311, but I’ve had the same experience with that as many readers have. Calls and emails are not returned. Basically, they seem to go into a parallel universe or something. From listening to the local scanner, I’ve heard plow trucks drivers get reminded to “follow the book” about which streets to plow first and in which order, which tells me that on their end they know the machine is not operating as smoothly as it could. I feel like constituents are being dismissed. I think most understand that we’ve gotten hit with more bad weather than usual and this does create some different kinds of challenges, but that’s not an excuse for some streets to be nearly impassable days after a storm ends.