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January 09, 2007
City Announces 2007 Snow Emergency Plans And Procedures
Residents Encouraged to Call 311Customer Service Line to Sign Up for Telephone and E-mail Notificatio
SOMERVILLE – Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone and DPW Commissioner Stan Koty reminded residents today of Somerville’s snow emergency policies, and encouraged people to call 311 to sign up for the City’s telephone and e-mail notification systems.
“We design these guidelines to streamline snow removal operations, ensure safe streets, and speed the clearing of municipal parking lots. With the unseasonably mild weather we’ve experienced this winter, it’s easy to forget the importance of being prepared for snow emergencies,” said Curtatone, “But we’re ready for the moment this weather gives way - and with the assistance and cooperation of our residents, we’ll be able to keep roads safe and clear all winter long.”
Curtatone also listed a number of ways in which residents can obtain information about snow emergencies, including the city’s snow hotline, telephone and e-mail distribution lists, city cable channels, the official city website, and news and weather reports on major television networks. Curtatone asked that residents take a moment to review city rules that go into effect when significant snow is predicted. A snowemergency may be declared whenever four or more inches are predicted to fall.
The city’s snow Emergency Policy is as follows:
- When the snow emergency is declared, parking is prohibited on the even side of the street, unless otherwise posted.
- Upon declaration of a SnowEmergency, residents will have four hours to move their cars to the odd side of the street. Residents are strongly advised to move their cars as soon as an emergency is declared in order to avoid confusion.
- Towing will commence immediately after the four-hour period has elapsed.
- Plowing will begin after two inches of snow has fallen. Main roads, cross-town streets, bus routes, and ‘hospital hills’ will be done first. The intent of the city is to plow up to the curb on the even side of the street.
Residents who do not have access to off-street parking may use the following locations during a snow emergency:
- East Somerville Community School, 115 Pearl St
- Capuano Early Childhood Center, 150 Glen St
- SCAT Municipal Lot, Union Square
- Kiley Barrel Municipal Lot, Union Square
- Cummings School, 42 Prescott Street
- City Hall Concourse, 93 Highland Avenue
- Central Library, 79 Highland Avenue
- Healey School, 5 Meacham St
- Brown School, 201 Willow Ave
- Kennedy School, 5 Cherry Street
- West Somerville Neighborhood School, 177 Powderhouse Blvd
- West Branch Library, 40 College Ave
- All metered municipal parking lots
- After the snow emergency has been lifted, vehicles must be removed from the above locations within two hours.
- Vehicles are subject to towing after the two-hour window has expired.
- The DPW will plow driving lanes in parking lots during the storm. Parking lots will be completely cleared as soon as possible after the emergency is lifted.
- Permit parking enforcement will resume twenty-four hours after the snow emergency is lifted. It is the responsibility of residents to ensure that their resident or visitor-parking permits are visible.
The city will use multiple communication channels to notify the public of that a snow emergency has been declared. Police officers will use their vehicle public address systems to provide neighborhood announcements of a snow emergency a minimum of four hours before ticketing and towing. Snow emergencies will be promptly announced on City Cable channels (15 & 16 on Comcast, 15 & 13 on RCN), and will be posted to the city’s website at www.ci.somerville.ma.us. Residents may also call the city’s Notification Hotline at (617) 628-SNOW (628-7669) to hear a pre-recorded update of the city’s snow emergency status. The City will also continue to offer e-mail “snowalert” notification; to sign up, please click “Sign Up for Snow E-mail Alerts” under QuickLinks on the City homepage, or call 311. Residents receiving Snow Alerts via e-mail in previous years do not need to sign up again for 2007.
Beginning this year, the city will also use its Connect-CTY telephone mass notification system to this year’s snow emergency information tools. “Connect-CTY has quickly become an extremely popular system to notify residents about road closures, emergency repair work, power outages, and other important neighborhood information,” said Curtatone, “We have always planned to use the system during snow emergencies, and we’re now ready to add this technology to all of the other ways we reach out to inform residents and businesses that an emergency is going into effect or has been lifted.”
Residents already receiving Connect-CTY notifications via telephone will automatically receive all snow emergency notifications. Those wishing to sign up to receive notifications or add additional telephone numbers (such as work phones or cell phones) are urged to call 311 to have their information added to the city’s notification database.
“The data we collect is for municipal notifications only,” said Curtatone. “It won’t be shared or used for any other purpose.”
Curtatone reminded residents that the quickest and easiest way to ensure their inclusion in these emergency notification systems or to get questions answered about snow policies is to contact a Customer Service Representative in the 311 Call Center. Representatives are available by dialing 311 from any landline or cell phone (617-666-3311 outside Somerville and 1-866-808-4851 for TTY users), by e-mailing 311Updates@ci.somerville.ma.us, or by visiting www.ci.somerville.ma.us and clicking the 311 logo.
““Keeping our roads and pathways safe and clear during and after snowstorms is always a challenge in a densely-populated community like ours,” said DPW Commissioner Stan Koty, “We really rely on community cooperation. We ask that residents continue to do their part to keep sidewalks and fire hydrants in front of their homes clear, and to move their cars off the even side of the street. In return, we try to be careful about our timing of emergency declarations, cancellations and enforcement. We want people to have enough prior notice of the city's plans so that they can work with us. Snow emergencies are team events, and everyone in the city needs to feel like they're part of the team.”
Contact: Maeghan Silverberg
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