SNOW EMERGENCIES & SNOW PARKING BANS

Significant snow storms typically require the banning of parking downtown and on major streets.  Sometimes, the ban is extended to some residential streets as well.  Bans usually are announced in local media and on the telephone hotline: 946-SNOW. A map of the downtown and major streets typically included in a snow emergency can be found on the Snow Emergency Areas map.  Downtown areas are marked in blue; major streets are colored in red.  (With the free Adobe Acrobat Reader, you can zoom on areas of this map of interest to you.)  The Mayor issues a parking ban in order to allow the Public Works Department to efficiently plow the City streets.  Violators of the ban impede our crews’ ability to their jobs and inconvenience City residents and visitors.  Cars parked in violation of the ban are subject to ticketing and towing.

For more information on snow emergencies, please see the excerpt from Article IV of Chapter 29 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of New Haven below: It is hereby declared to be in the best interest of the public safety, convenience and welfare of the city to regulate and restrict the parking of vehicles on public highways within the control and limits of said city, during a period of snow emergencies, so as not to impede the transportation and movement of food, fuel, medical care, fire, health, police protection and other vital facilities of the city. A snow emergency is hereby defined to be a period of time prior to, as forecast by the United States Weather Bureau, during or after, a fall of snow, sleet or freezing rain, during which period vehicular and/or pedestrian traffic is expected to be hazardous or congested due to the elements, and during which period the parking of vehicles could hinder, delay or obstruct the safe flow of such traffic and/or the proper cleaning, clearing and making safe of the public highways of the city. A snow emergency shall be declared by the mayor of the city, and in his absence by the acting mayor, either before, during or after a fall of snow, sleet or freezing rain, when in his sound judgment and discretion the circumstances warrant the determination of such an emergency in the interest of safety upon the public highways of the city. The mayor shall cause public announcement of such determination of snow emergency at least two (2) hours prior to the time of becoming effective, after which time a snow emergency shall be in effect… It shall be unlawful at any time during the period of any snow emergency under the provisions of this article for the owner of a vehicle or person in whose name it is registered to allow, permit or suffer such vehicle to stand or park in any street, way, highway or parkway under the control of the city in such a manner as to constitute a hazard or obstruction to vehicular and/or pedestrian traffic or to hamper and interfere with the work of removing or plowing snow or removal of ice….