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January 20, 2012 in City
Ignoring plow rules could result in $30 fine
The first declared snow emergency of the winter in Spokane brings with it a new weapon in the city’s ability to enforce its winter storm parking rules: $30 parking tickets.
Officials confirmed this week that the city will continue to follow a snowplow plan developed in the aftermath of big storms in 2008 and implemented in the winter of 2009-’10.
The city’s response plan outlines two kinds of snow emergencies and accompanying street-parking restrictions.
City officials opted not to issue tickets or tow vehicles that violated the restrictions the first two winters, except in Browne’s Addition, which has long had parking restrictions for plowing. This winter the city plans to introduce tickets. Next winter, it may introduce towing.
“We will ticket if needed,” said Mark Serbousek, director of the city’s street department.
But officials said Thursday that they are likely to give violators a break for this storm.
“Unless we run into real problems, we’re not looking to write tickets this snowfall,” said Gerry Gemmill, interim public works and utilities director. “We’re looking to move snow.”Serbousek, in coordination with the utilities director and Mayor David Condon, declared a stage 2 snow emergency Thursday evening.
Cars on arterial and bus routes had to be moved by 6:30 p.m.; cars parked on residential hill routes were required to be moved to the side of the street with odd-numbered addresses by 12:30 a.m. this morning; and all cars parked on all residential streets must be moved to the odd side of the street by 6 a.m. this morning.
Street officials say the hodgepodge of parked cars in residential neighborhoods slows them down and occasionally prevents them from clearing narrow streets. They also say that if cars are parked on only one side of the street, they can clear a much wider path.
With the stage 2 declaration, the city will call in contract graders and drivers to clear all residential streets tomorrow morning.
With the additional workers, the city will double the number of vehicles devoted to snow and ice clearance from 30 to 60.
“We’ll be fully loaded, and we will be ready to plow out the city,” Gemmill said.
Closing Geiger: Wise or worrisome? 
lewis8457 on January 20 at 2:16 a.m.
who do i send the ticket to for covering the sidewalk i paid good money to get shoveled the city plows just covered again?
dataxman on January 20 at 6:09 a.m.
lewis - that is something I have always wondered about. I can get a ticket for not clearing my sidewalk. I can get a ticket for shoveling snow from the sidewalk into the road. Yet a truck pushes snow from the road onto the sidewalk and the onerous is back on me to clear it again? Can I put it back into the road?
Luckily the City has only plowed my road once in the last 15 years…
opiemuyo on January 20 at 6:10 a.m.
pffft. They do not have the resources to investigate property crime let alone writing tickets. Be responsible,please move your rig, neighbors.
MrBloggy on January 20 at 7:37 a.m.
CITY OF SPOKANE
MAYOR CONDON OFFICE PRESS RELEASE
FOR: IMMEDIATE RELEASE
1/20/2012 O716
SUBJECT: SNOW REMOVAL THREAT LEVEL
Spokane is now DEFCON 3 for snow removal. This is threat level: LILAC
ACTION: All arterials will be vacated of vehicles from 0900 to 1000 so Air Force B-52s on temp deployments to Fairchild AFB can conduct low level napalm bombing runs for rapid snow and ice removal
All residential non-arterials are placed under martial law from 0900 to 1800 so a joint strike force of Spokane PD, Spokane S.O., BATF, Customs, Fish and Game and DEA officers may use all means necessary to remove vehicular and pedestrian impediments to Spokane city street crews and plows. Unmanned SWAT robots may be deployed in certain areas where snow depths exceed labor agreements with the Spokane Police Guild for foot patrols.
DEFCON 3/LILAC WILL CONTINUE UNTIL REASSESSMENT AT 1800
avocet on January 20 at 7:38 a.m.
Well, that’s assuming the city is even plowing. Where are they? Not a single one in sight, including on KXLY news last night, who was reporting from the bottom of the Thor hill. “We have been here an hour and haven’t seen a plow anywhere.”
The plowing progress map last night indicated that our neighborhood was in the “next” group. This morning, that has been removed and we’re not even on deck.
It’s not the end of the world, BUT…the handling of the situation is LAME.
And a big BOO to the state for the deplorable condition of I-90 from the Idaho line yesterday. The entire Idaho stretch from the Montana border was nicely plowed. When we crossed into WA, the freeway seemed completely untouched. SO glad I pay taxes! >:-\
westerly on January 20 at 8:21 a.m.
mrbloggy….LOL. I think the city issues these emergencies to make them feel powerful, ” WE ARE THE LEADERS FOLLOW US!” Like the bus system, now called ST AUTHORITY, EPA (again AUTHORITY) . SCAPA another ‘AUTHORITY’. They feel good, warm and fuzzy after these proclamations.
Edwame on January 20 at 8:31 a.m.
I am not alone in finding the whole snow plowing / emergency levels confusing. Why do they need a “level” trigger to plow?
It seems pretty basic, if there is snow, they need to plow.
RedCedar on January 20 at 8:45 a.m.
The best way to deal with the snow is for everybody to be courteous and help out. The odd/even parking side is a good idea just as a way of coordinating with your neighbors. Even if the city never plows your street, it at least lets out-of-control drivers have a wider run to the bottom instead of making them do a slalom run around randomly-parked cars. Even if your attitude is purely selfish, your car is less likely to get hit if it’s parked on the same side with all the others.
I highly doubt that anyone has ever gotten fined for shoveling snow into the street, so that just has to be one of the many laws we can choose to ignore. The city is not going to do all the work, and we wouldn’t want to pay the required taxes if it did. They can’t keep a huge fleet of big yellow machines on hand just for the couple of days a year when there’s a lot of snow. On the other hand, lots of guy have a big pickup with a snow plow, a snow-blower, or an ATV with a blade on it. Once you’ve got the thing fired up, why not plow out a few neighbors driveways too, or snow-blow the sidewalks all around the block? It’s amazing how often I see a neatly snow-blowered sidewalk with the snow-blowing stopped precisely at each property line.
terrymr on January 20 at 8:50 a.m.
Nobody plowed yesterday because they thought they could skate by until tonight when it starts to melt.
lewis8457 on January 20 at 8:51 a.m.
well my once shoveled front walk is under about one to two feet of compact snow from the road. i paid a neighbor boy to shovel it for me, i shovel once per snow fall if the city wants to over it up that is their business.
but they will fining themselves, video can be used for many things, time stamping a nice shoveled sidewalk is just as effective as a video of a rogue cop beating a man to death.
liberal_in_right_wing_land on January 20 at 9:18 a.m.
Where are the conservatives who YELLED AND SCREAMED about how poorly Mary Verner was clearing the streets not doing the same now? This lack of action on the roads is way worse than anything Verner did. You look at the cities plow map and they are finally now clearing the sides roads they said they would at noon yesterday. What were they doing all night…sitting at the donut shop?
Come on mayor, your fist big test as mayor and the Boy Wonder has FAILED miserably. Yet, the conservatives on here are silent in any criticism they might have. Hypocrites.
avocet on January 20 at 9:40 a.m.
Figures “libtard” would make this into a liberal-conservative issue. @@
liberal_in_right_wing_land on January 20 at 9:45 a.m.
avocet, where were you last winter when the conservatives like you were blasting Verner on here? So, let me get this straight, its only ok if the idiots on the right yell and scream about a mayor not clearing the streets in time, but when a republican backed mayor is in office, this topic is off limits?
I am just pointing out the total hypocrisy from you “conservatards”
(look, I can put tard at the end of your political label also!)
Loudin on January 20 at 10:31 a.m.
So uh, where do I send the $500 ticket for the oblivious snow plow operators (who are apparently NASA scientists on emergency furlough) who cover my sidewalks and driveway entrances? It gets a little old being one of the few guys in my neighborhood that clears his walkways, only to have them be encased in icebergs by city/county employees who don’t seem to give a crap.
andrew5 on January 20 at 10:47 a.m.
My observation, the citizens are told they must keep their walks clear, which I am fine with, I walk the sidewalks along with my neighbors. How about the sidewalks that are not in front of privately owned property? Example the sidewalk on Broadway that passes over the top of Maple Street underpass…after the city plowed Broadway, the sidewalk is completely impassable…I have to keep my sidewalk clear, who’s responsibility is it?
misjustice on January 20 at 11:21 a.m.
Mr. Bloggy, LOL to the 10th degree!
; )
de3 on January 20 at 11:58 a.m.
I use a shovel and they use hydraulic equipment to dump feet of concrete ice on the sidewalk and driveway after I cleared it. So why bother?
They dump truckloads of snow on our driveway but if I put a shovel of snow in the street, they’ll fine us!
Bruce (aka thatoneguy) on January 20 at 12:35 p.m.
waaaaaaaah
DickAdams on January 20 at 10:09 p.m.
Red Cedar, i agree that odd/even parking works. I say that because before I migrated to Spokane, I lived in Minnesota and the odd/even worked pretty darn good. The problem in Spokane is they don`t change sides of the roads. Again, this year same ol, same ol. I live on the odd side of the street and everyone on the odd side has their driveways blocked with huge junks of packed snow and ice. My neighbors across the street love it. No driveway snow chunks and ice to shovel like we do on the odd side of the street..
Red, you had better delete the even from your post.
Traveler on January 20 at 10:34 p.m.
Actually, Dick, it does change. It’s just d*mned confusing.
For this winter season — 2011-12 — you park on the odd side of the street. For next year’s winter season — 2012-13 — you park on the even side of the street. The 2013-14 winter season will be back to the odd-side parking, etc. Except in Browne’s Addition, of course. And downtown. And during Stage 1 emergencies.
There’s a fuller explanation on pages 3 and 4 at http://www.spokanestreetdepartment.org/documents/SnowEmergencyResponsePlan.pdf