Snow Emergency = No Parking
By: Kris Schuller
Updated: December 19, 2012
When the snow starts falling overnight, your local municipalities plow operators will do their best to keep the roads open. To help ease the job of snow removal - many communities have declared snow emergencies.
For officers on patrol in De Pere, all is quiet on the weather front for now. But with a foot of snow headed our way, this city has declared a snow emergency.
"People are going to definitely be cautious," said Sgt. Ron Van Price of the De Pere Police Department. "Slowdown and relearn how to drive in winter weather."
A snow emergency means no parking on city streets during the storm. De Pere is just one of many communities in northeast Wisconsin to issue the order, so plow operators can remove the snow quickly.
"Before a storm like this we preload trucks with salt," said Bob Bousley from Brown County Public Works. "So when the drivers come in, all they have to do is hit the roads."
The last time a blizzard hit the area two years ago, it took over a day to dig out. The Brown County Highway Department plans to have 41 plows and 12 graders patrolling the 1,500 miles of county and state roads it's responsible for during the storm - to keep them open to traffic.
"Were prepared for this," said Bousley.
But while snow removal will be ongoing , over at the county's Emergency Management headquarters, staff says travel will still be tricky.
"In the event there is a large incident like this and people end up in ditches we are not going to have the resources to get people right away," said Cullen Peltier. "So if you end up going into a ditch you may be there for a while."
Meaning perhaps it might be best simply not to travel.
"If you don't need to drive tomorrow, if you don't need to be at work, stay home," said Randy Schultz of the Brown County Sheriff's Department.
And if your community is under a snow emergency like De Pere - definitely not a good idea to park out on a city streets.
"You will be cited and the vehicle will be towed," said Sgt. Van Price.
Snow emergencies have been declared in many communities - like Green Bay, Appleton and Oshkosh and go in effect at various times. For specific details on parking restrictions, contact your local municipality.
