FROM THE TOWN ADMINSTRATOR’S DESK
By Gregory T Federspiel
With the recent snow and ice events our “Blue Light” season has returned. Since 2012 when voters modified the winter on-street parking ban to be applicable only during declared snow emergencies, the Town has utilized the blue light system to help notify residents when on-street parking is banned due to snow and ice storms. The Chief of Police, in consultation with our Public Work’s Director, is authorized by Article X, Section 39 of our local bylaws to declare a snow emergency parking ban when inclement weather is eminent.
When winter precipitation is predicted the blue lights are typically turned on and notices are put up on the Town’s web site and the Police Department’s Facebook page. Whenever possible, this notification is deployed a few hours before the actual ban is enforced to allow residents time to move their vehicles off the street. Ticketing and towing are possibility for cars left on the streets during a parking ban. Various municipal parking lots are available to use for vehicles with a resident parking sticker though vehicles should be moved out of these lots after the on-street parking ban is lifted to allow the parking lots to be cleared of snow.
Blue lights are located at the entrance to Sweeney Park on Summer Street, at the intersections of Pine and Pleasant, School and Pleasant, and Beach and Summer Streets as well as outside the Police Station. You can always check the Town’s web site for an alert if you are not sure if a parking ban has been declared.
Getting vehicles off the street is important for the effective and efficient plowing of snow and deicing of roads. Our crews work hard to ensure that roads are safe to travel as soon as possible after a storm. Help them do their jobs well by complying with the posted parking bans. And remember to go slow and have a good set of snow tires on your vehicle if you have to go out during a storm.
Winter weather presents its challenges but I still favor a white Christmas! Enjoy the Holidays.