268 Vehicles Towed In Storm

As New Haven dug out from a 14-plus inch snowstorm, an overnight tag-and-tow team found 268 cars in violation of the parking ban issued to enable plows to clear the streets.

Starting at 11 p.m. Thursday, the traffic and parking department sent out a team overnight to hunt for cars either parked on the odd sides of residential streets; or on either side of downtown streets or along posted snow emergency routes. The ban expired at 6 a.m. Friday.

The team issued 268 tickets on vehicles, which were then towed, according to emergency management chief Rick Fontana.

Transit chief Doug Hausladen also hit ​“two handfuls of streets” that public works crews had trouble plowing because of residential-street-ban violators.

Streets remain icy Friday morning, Fontana reported. Schools were closed, as public works crews continued the clearing process.

“All the streets have been hit. But there are [still] a lot of hard patches out there. The main arterials are good. But the side roads are going to be a challenge. We’re asking people to give us a little understanding.” The operation will continue through the weekend, as another 1 – 3 inches of snow are expected Friday night.

Some streets remain unplowable because of buried cars parked illegally on the even side. The city said neighborhoods will have to dig out those cars to get plow service.

Bans may be reinstated this weekend as more snow falls and crews continue plowing side streets. Free parking will be available from noon Friday until noon Sunday at the following schools’ parking lots: Betsy Ross, East Rock, Elm City Montessori, John Martinez, Columbus, Nathan Hale, Wexler, Cross Career, Hillhouse, Conte.

The city has worked hard in recent years to communicate to the public about the parking ban and enforce in order to avoid re-encountering some past difficulties clearing streets in big storms.

And the word has gotten out, according to city public works chief Jeff Pescosolido. He reported Thursday that New Haveners overall did a great job obeying the residential ban. He said his drivers remarked at how unencumbered their paths were as they hustled to keep at least a couple of lanes open on major arteries during the peak of the storm Thursday, when as many as four inches fell in one hour.

There were exceptions: public works couldn’t get some plows onto some narrow streets in East Rock, the Hill and Dixwell because of illegally parked cars. Pescosolido was sending in smaller vehicles.

At a 4 p.m briefing at the city subterranean Emergency Operations Center at 200 Orange St., representatives of American Medical Response reported that they had responded to 150 calls so far on Thursday, including 120 transports — about 100 less than usual for a Thursday. They said people apparently got the message to try to stay indoors during the storm.

A 70-foot tree fell and brought down utility wires at Columbus and Howard avenues in the Hill. Parks chief Becky Bombero said her crew was finishing up a removal job around 4:30 p.m. She said United Illuminating was called to a private residence on Fountain Street where a tree on private property also fell and took wires with it.

Homeless shelters and the warm center at Bethel AME Church on Goffe stayed open for extended hours Thursday, as temperatures plummeted into the 20s. Some 230 people spent the day at the warming center, the Grand Avenue shelter, and the main and overflow Columbus House shelters, according to city homeless coordinator Velma George. She said outreach workers visited homeless encampments Wednesday urging people to come inside for the night.

The city did not lose a day of trash pick-up in this storm. Pescosolido said crews did the Thursday regular pick-up during the storm. He sent them home afterwards to rest; they return to work at 9 p.m. Thursday to help clear streets, then will stay over to carry out the Friday trash pick-up.

CT Transit buses stopped running at noon today because of the snowstorm. Some routes were set to resume at 6:25 p.m. The following routes are not resuming: F6/West Chapel (the part running to Seymour); G1(no service to Shelton Ave.); J4 to Waterbury; M1, M2, M7 (Washington Ave. trips); O5 (Winchester Ave.); Q State Street/Edgewood Ave (all trips); Z Goffe Street/Sargent Drive (all trips).

A CT Transit bus crashed at Whalley Avenue and Blake Street at 8:15 a.m. Six people reported getting hurt, according to police spokesman David Hartman; four ​“refused treatment,” while the other two ​“were transported to area hospitals for treatment of minor injuries.”

“NHPD urges motorists to stay off the roads unless travel is absolutely necessary. The city has a parking ban that includes all of downtown and only even side of the street parking where it is otherwise permitted in all other areas,” Hartman wrote in a release. ​“If your vehicle become stranded, you must arrange to have it removed quickly so city plow trucks can effectively clear snow from city streets.”

“It is unlawful to plow or deposit snow from private property on to a city street,” he added.

An earlier version of this story follows:

60 Snow-Clearers Ready To Roll

The city has its biggest-ever fleet of vehicles ready to clear up to a foot or more of snow expected to fall Thursday.

So reported city emergency management chief Rick Fontana (pictured) at a pre-storm briefing for government department heads held Wednesday afternoon at the subterranean Emergency Operations Center (EOC) at 200 Orange St. With temperatures approaching the 60s in the sunny afternoon outside, department heads prepared for a descent into blizzard-like conditions and 20-degree weather Thursday.

The city has 60 vehicles ready for clearing New Haven’s 22 snow routes once the white stuff starts falling at one-to-three inches per hour at rush hour Thursday morning, said public works chief Jeff Pescosolido (at left in photo): 38 public works vehicles, supplemented by parks & rec vehicles and others operated by outside contractors. Never before has the city prepared for a storm with that many vehicles at the ready, he said; during the historic 2013 Nemo blizzard, which paralyzed New Haven with 34 inches of snow, the city eventually enlisted more vehicles for the protracted post-storm clean-up.

A parking ban goes into effect at 11 p.m. Wednesday, lasting through 6 a.m. Friday. People should park on the even side of the street (or off the street). Cars parked on the odd side, or within 25 feet of a bust stop or hydrant or intersection, can be towed.As of 4 p.m., CT Transit and the Greater New Haven Transit District planned to operate regular service Thursday, albeit with ​“significant delays,” reported city traffic czar Doug Hausladen.

Homeless coordinator Velma George reported that homeless shelters plan to remain open during the day Thursday with expanded staff. The city’s warming center will also have expanded hours. Outreach workers and cops are visiting homeless encampments to offer information and help getting inside.

The storm is expected to taper off during rush hour Thursday afternoon.

Mayor Toni Harp noted a sense of almost celebratory team spirit and anticipation in EOC as each department head weighed in and everyone got ready to swing into action for the season’s first major storm. ​“We will show once again,” Harp predicted, ​“that we have the best operation in the state.”