First off, let's talk about what determines a Snow Emergency. In a phone call to Harold "Toby" Opheim, of the Madison City Streets Department, he clarified what the term "snow emergency" means. A Snow Emergency is determined by one of two criteria: a snowfall of three or more inches or as circumstances dictate, such as successive snowfalls totaling more than three inches. An example given by Mr. Opheim might be a snowfall one night of one and a half inches and a snowfall the next night of two inches which would exceed the three inch maximum total, with the City Streets Department calling a Snow Emergency to clear the streets. According to Mr. Opheim, once the City determines that Snow Emergency conditions exist, it will usually make the declaration before 6 PM with 10 PM being the latest time the declaration is made.
Now, what happens after the City declares that Snow Emergency? The night of the emergency is when the shuffling begins. After one in the morning (that's 1 AM) following the announcement of the Snow Emergency, your vehicle must be parked on the correct side of the street. Those correct sides are: from 1 AM to 7 AM on the odd numbered side of the street if the calendar day is odd or from 1 AM to 7 AM on the even numbered side of the street if that calendar day is even numbered.
Mr. Opheim went on to explain that since the Tenney-Lapham Neighborhood lies within the Downtown Isthmus Snow Emergency Zone (DISEZ), it is exempt from the alternate side parking requirements that cover the rest of the city. But, he pointed out, "you can't use street parking for storage. City ordinances say that after your vehicle has been sitting for 48 hours or more, it can be ticketed and if it remains for an additional 48 hours, it can be towed.When asked how the Snow Emergency policy came about, Mr. Opheim responded that the City was concerned that the available offstreet parking in the central city area might not meet the needs of that area. So they conducted a survey which revealed that the offstreet parking was indeed insufficient: It did not exceed 50% of the number of cars that it served. In fact, the survey revealed that both sides of the street were needed to accommodate the number of vehicles that populate the central city. Since the Street Department's responsibility was to maintain a center street path, having a means of guaranteeing plowing to the curbline was necessary. As a result, the Snow Emergency Zone was established.
In response to the question of how neighborhood residents could assist the Streets Department in clearing our streets, Mr. Opheim had suggestions. Alternate your vehicular parking whenever possible as this will allow snowplows to clear the snow before it becomes too difficult to move. (He said that there are no mechanical means to keep the plowblades on the street other than their physical weight which makes it almost impossible to clear "hard pack" that can build up.) And, stay tuned to your favorite radio or TV station for snow emergency information or call the 24-hour Snow Emergency telephone number.
24-Hour Snow Emergency Information 261-9111
-David Mandehr
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