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.