by Thomas Breen
Up to 20 inches of “really wet and heavy” snow fell on New Haven between Sunday and Monday — leading to three ambulances and several plows getting stuck, and 242 vehicles being towed for violating the city’s parking ban.
Mayor Justin Elicker provided those updates Tuesday at around 11:20 a.m. during a phone interview with the Independent.
Elicker said that, in addition to all of the snow that fell, there has been “significant snow drifts,” making it “a little trickier to clear.”
“A number of plows got stuck.” So did three ambulances. Fortunately, none of those ambulances were responding to emergency calls at the time, and were subsequently plowed out.
Elicker said the city’s Department of Public Works (DPW) plow crews are working 24/7 to clear the streets. Plow drivers will be replaced by sanitation crews later in the day to make sure that the snow-clearance operation moves ahead uninterrupted.
He said that the city has towed a total of 242 vehicles and ticketed 298 for violating a citywide parking ban that first took effect on Sunday at noon and remains in place. That ban means no parking on the odd-numbered side of the street in residential areas and no parking on either side of the street on marked snow-emergency routes or downtown.
“At the moment, we’re keeping the parking ban in place,” Elicker said. “There’s a storm coming in tomorrow morning” that could drop another 1 to 3 inches on the city.
“We’re monitoring things” and will make a determination later in the day about whether or not schools will be closed or have a delay on Wednesday. (New Haven Public Schools remained closed both Monday and Tuesday because of the snow.)
Elicker also said that the city saw 168 people in New Haven’s five warming centers and another 26 relocated to hotels Tuesday night.
How did Monday’s blizzard response compare to how the city handled the major winter storm that dumped more than a foot of snow on New Haven in late January?
Elicker said the city struggles with “our ability to tow enough cars.”
“First of all, we work really hard to notify the public about the parking ban,” he said. “Even with all the press we do, the robocalls, social media, even knocking doors on narrow streets … a lot of people don’t move cars. Currently, we only have so much capacity with parking enforcement officers and the tow trucks to tow.”
He said the city is exploring “how to expand that capacity” to make sure that cars are towed for violating the parking ban so that the city can promptly clear streets of snow.
In response to a request for comment about the ambulances that got stuck in the snow Monday, American Medical Response (AMR) spokesperson Paris Tanner wrote, “During yesterday’s snowstorm, three vehicles operated by American Medical Response (AMR) of New Haven County experienced temporary delays after becoming stuck due to hazardous road conditions. Importantly, no patient care or outcomes were impacted. AMR worked closely with the city’s Department of Public Works to safely and efficiently clear the vehicles and return them to service. We are grateful for the city’s prompt assistance and remain committed to ensuring uninterrupted emergency response services, even in challenging weather conditions.”