NEWS
It’s ‘like driving to California’
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by Mary Duke
Monday, January 28, 2008
Snowfall and its inconvenience come as no big surprise to University of Wisconsin students who have perfected the art of hurriedly trudging to classes decked out in winter gear
What may not be so familiar to students, however, is the lowdown on how Madison goes about clearing the roads after brutal snowstorms.
According to Alan Schumacher, the man in charge of clearing Madison roads, the Streets Division is responsible for clearing about 760 miles of streets and 1,700 lane-miles in the city.
“That’s like driving to California,” Schumacher said. “It is quite a daunting task.”
The streets of Madison are top priority when it comes to dealing with the aftermath of winter’s wrath, Schumacher said, adding, “There is complete truth to the notion that you can’t control the weather.”
“It is never a convenient time for a major snowstorm, and you just have to be prepared for whenever it may hit,” Schumacher said. “It doesn’t make a difference what time of day or specific day it snows. Morning, evening or night, we have to step up (and clear the roads).”
To make street plowing go more smoothly amid extreme snowfall, the city can declare a snow emergency, as was recently the case through the night of Jan. 22 to next morning.
Schumacher explained what type of weather conditions would be declared a snow emergency, and when giving out citations becomes what has been deemed a necessary step by the city.
“We don’t worry about a half an inch of snow, but when the streets in the city reach about the three-inch mark, we consider calling it an emergency,” Schumacher said.
The announcement of a snow emergency consequently means added stress for students parking their cars on the street. Vehicle owners are required to alternate which side of the street they park their vehicles, so that the city is able to effectively plow the streets. Failure to follow these parking rules results in a $30 ticket.
UW senior Mingen Feng said she received a parking ticket during the most recent snow emergency and feels the city overlooks the difficulties involved in re-parking cars in heavy snowfall.
“When there is a snowstorm going on, it is going to, of course, be very hard to drive a car anywhere, even if it is just across the street,” Feng said. “You would think the city would take that into account.”
Feng expressed her frustration and how she thought the whole situation was ironic in that during snow emergencies the city is working to clear the roads they recognize as un-drivable, and yet expect drivers to move their cars back and forth on these snow-covered roads.
“If the city really believes that the streets are unsafe and need to be plowed so urgently, they need to realize how moving one’s snowed-in car is not a simple task,” Feng said. “Instead of giving out tickets, they should be understanding and urge drivers to move their cars as frequently as they possibly can.”
With six snow emergencies already declared this winter, Madison Police Department Officer Mark Packard there has been no shortage of parking violations, and many students, like Feng, unfortunately find themselves cashing out $30 they would rather spend elsewhere.
“Combining all the tickets given for this season’s snow emergency parking violations, we are faced with a total of 4,988 citations,” Packard said. “That adds up to nearly $150,000 in citations brought by winter in the Midwest.”
Schumacher said in order to tackle the overwhelming challenge of plowing Madison’s snowy streets it requires the compliance and help of vehicle owners.
“People hold the expectation that right after the snow stops the roads should be cleared,” Schumacher said. “That can only be done if there is room for us to do our job.”
Anonymous (January 28, 2008 @ 5:57am):
Don't all students just ride their mopeds when it snows???
Anonymous (January 28, 2008 @ 10:24am):
nice article...not. the city still sucks at clearing the snow, bottom line. my street still hasn't been plowed from the snowfall over the weekend.
Anonymous (January 28, 2008 @ 1:13pm):
If people started parking better, parking officials would just get more diligent about ticketing. They need that money so don't try to make it sound like the amount of money they bring in is an indication of how poorly we park.
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