Snow policy changes may be the tip of the iceberg

The Newton City Council on Jan. 17 gave the police department authorization to impound vehicles illegally parked in the Downtown Snow Removal District during declared snow hauling operations, but residents who live in the area say the real problem is the limited parking options and poorly maintained lots.

Diane Dillman, who lives at Hotel Maytag Apartments, said finding downtown parking is difficult, especially for people who are handicapped or disabled. Dillman approached the council chambers podium using a walker and admitted to resorting to on-street parking to access her apartment.

“One of the reasons I park on the street is because the lot is in such poor condition where we’re supposed to park,” she said. “If you’ve got a walker or a wheelchair or something like that, you’re going to fall in the best of circumstances, let alone when there’s snow and ice. So it’s dangerous.”

However, Dillman suggested the solution to illegal street parking during snow hauling operations is not to issue higher fines or tow people’s vehicles, which is what was proposed and eventually adopted unanimously by the city council. The Newton resident argued the solution is finding more downtown parking.

“Maybe taking a look at the parking dilemma in general and seeing if there’s something that can be done to make it where there’s enough parking where people aren’t going to be parking on the street,” she said. “It would be very easy to overlook three hours and to have your car towed. That’s a pretty stiff penalty.”

Michael Adams, a Newton resident, later told council members the public lot available for tenants of Hotel Maytag Apartments is a block away, which he argued is asking a lot of residents who may be disabled. Adams also claimed the lot still was not clear as of the night of the city council meeting.

“So we’re expecting a handicapped person to use their walker or their wheelchair or their cane to walk a whole city block, to park their car a whole city block away in a public parking lot get to their apartment — and then go back the next day and move it once when snow operations are open,” he said.

Adams also questioned if there were enough parking spaces available for downtown tenants.

Dawn Bleeker, owner of the Capitol II Theatre, said there has always been issues with parking and was excited for what the council would do to address them. However, late night towing makes her nervous, especially if the theater is hosting a midnight movie. She asked for some flexibility on those rare occasions.

“I’m really excited for the conversations going forward, because it has been a problem,” Bleeker said.

According to the city’s policy, parking is prohibited downtown between the hours of midnight and 6 a.m. when snow hauling operations are declared. Of note, the city defines snow removal as street plowing; whereas snow hauling refers to staff taking accumulated snow away from streets.

Unless it is an extreme case, city staff do not conduct snow hauling operations on Fridays and Saturday. Newton Public Works Director Jody Rhone said one such occasion in his 30 years with the city was during a past holiday season; staff cleared the streets around the churches to allow for Christmas services.

Still, navigating snow plows around cars is challenging for public works staff, particularly in a place with high traffic like the town square. Rhone said

“We want to do a good job for everyone, but we just can’t do it with the cars sitting there,” Rhone said. “So either we don’t give as good a level of service and we allow cars to park there, or if you’re wanting a better level of service the cars have to be out of there. It’s just that simple.”

CHANGES TO SNOW REMOVAL POLICY

Council member Randy Ervin spearheaded the changes to the city’s snow removal policy. During the Jan. 3 city council meeting, Ervin complained of a vehicle that was still parked on the street after a heavy winter storm. The car, he argued, prevented staffing from doing their job and wanted to address the issue.

However, Ervin also said downtown business owners need to follow the plan and scoop their accumulated snow into the street. He claimed there were still businesses that had cleared their snow two days after the Jan. 14 winter storm. Ervin urged downtown property owners to do their part.

“We did do a much better job on this event than we have in previous events, but it was because a majority of the people followed the rules that are in place,” Ervin said. “So if we just continue to work on the process, it can get better. And that is to everybody’s benefit downtown.”

Prior to council action, the city’s snow removal policy allowed for ticketing when vehicles were parked or abandoned in the Downtown Snow Removal District. Although the driver is penalized, it does not help public works clear the streets of an “unsightly and potentially hazardous situation for pedestrians and motorists.”

Now, the policy allows the Newton Police Department to ticket and impound vehicles parked downtown during snow hauling operations.

The council also allowed impoundment during citywide snow removal operations in situations where an illegally parked or abandoned vehicle creates a hazard to traffic, significantly impedes the ability to safely plow the street or remains on the street 24 hours after snow plowing operations are complete.

Costs associated with impounding a vehicle are the responsibility of the registered owner. Lt. Ron Cook of the Newton Police Department said it takes approximately 30-40 minutes to tow one vehicle from the downtown district.

Newton Mayor Mike Hansen said there used to be a time when the public works department used chains to pull cars away from parking spots to clear the streets. But Hansen clarified the city cannot do that nor would it want any public works employees to do that. Regardless, Hansen said citizens raised valid concerns.

“I don’t like hearing that we have a parking lot that’s unsafe for folks are getting around with assistance and help. I think we need to look into that,” he said of the Hotel Maytag lot. “I think our lease agreement was that particular provider was to continue to maintain that parking lot. We certainly don’t want any deterioration.”

Especially if the parking lot in question is still owned by the City of Newton. Hansen said the movie theater — which he described as a business the city invested in and has a lot of pride in — also deserves some consideration on rare occasions. The city needs to provide adequate parking, too, he said.

“At some point in time, folks, our operations have to happen,” Hansen said. “With all the different notices and what have you, if you can’t abide by that I’m sorry. We have to go on and provide a service not only for the individual that might be unfortunately towed but for our businesses and other folks that use downtown.”

Contact Christopher Braunschweig at 641-792-3121 ext. 6560 or cbraunschweig@newtondailynews.com