Title
An Ordinance to Amend Section 10:143 of Chapter 126 (Traffic) of Title X (Traffic) of the Ann Arbor City Code (ORD-24-32)
Memorandum
The proposed amendment modifies Section 10:143 to rename the Section from Snow Emergencies to On-Street Snow Parking Ban. It eliminates the current odd-even parking ban, which directed motorists to move their vehicles between 8:00 pm and midnight during an emergency. It requires a minimum 12-hour notice for an On-Street Snow Parking Ban to be declared and includes new exemptions from the ban, including vehicles with Disability License Plates or Parking Placards; blocks on which there are no driveways, and other streets for which there is inadequate off-street parking, safety concerns, or other site constraints.
The odd/even on-street parking ban with defined hours described in the current Section (1)(a) and (b) of this ordinance is complicated, difficult to enforce, and does not provide the operational flexibility needed to effectively respond to various snow and ice events.
Simplifying the language to say that the City Administrator has the authority to call an on-street parking ban based on existing or forecasted snowfall without regard to time of the day or sides of the street provide staff more operational flexibility to safely and effectively clear snow.
Parked cars on narrow public streets during and following a large snow event can create an obstacle in some parts of the city that slow down plowing operations, create frozen ridges of snow once cars are moved from the roadway and make it difficult for plow truck drivers to closely wrap corners at crosswalks and handicap ramps to improve pedestrian safety and accessibility following storms
The ability to call an on-street parking ban, when necessary, would provide Public Works and its subcontractors the space to plow streets curb to curb following large snow events and minimize the need for multiple return trips.
The addition of exemption language in the ordinance for...
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