With forecasts of four to eight inches of snow possible today and tonight, residents should note changes in parking policies in the event a snow emergency is put into effect.

In Kalona, when snow accumulations exceed two inches, snow routes and emergency access streets are given priority for salt application and snow removal to help with emergency services, schools and nursing home facilities. Once the snow stops, the plow trucks transition to plowing all city streets.  All residents are required to move their vehicles off the street and public parking areas during snow accumulation in an effort to speed up snow removal.

In Riverside, a snow emergency can go into effect after a snowfall of at least three inches and requires odd/even parking on designated snow routes for the first 24 hours in correlation with the day of the month. The parking will alternate until the snow has stopped and all streets are cleared. The City also has “snow emergency” routes where no parking is allowed until all snow has been removed and states, “It’s the responsibility of the abutting property owners to remove snow, ice and accumulations from sidewalks within 48 hours.”

In Wellman, an automatic snow emergency will go into effect any time snow accumulation is two inches or more in the City and will end 24 hours after the precipitation ends.  The Mayor also may declare a snow emergency on the basis of actual or predicted snow, sleet, freezing rain, or ice.  A Mayor-declared snow emergency shall start two hours after its declaration to provide owners a reasonable time to remove vehicles from the streets and shall last for 24 hours from the effective start time.

In all three communities, snow emergency parking violations can result in fines and/or vehicles being towed at the owner’s expense.