Mayor Finch Declares Snow Emergency for 12:01 a.m., Thursday, Jan. 2
Alternate side of the street parking rules in effect

BRIDGEPORT, CT (December 31, 2013) – Due to the upcoming projected winter, Mayor Bill Finch has declared a snow emergency in the City beginning at 12:01 a.m., Thursday, January 2.

 During a snow emergency, residents must move their cars off posted Snow Emergency streets or be subject to fines and towing. Alternate-side-of-the-street parking rules are in effect for all other streets throughout the City in order to allow snow plow drivers’ clear passage. To comply with the Snow Emergency Alternate-Side-of-the-Street Parking Rules, residents must move their cars to the ‘even-numbered’ side of the street by 12:01 a.m. on Jan. 2, and remain on the even-numbered side of the street until the odd-numbered side of the street has been cleared. (House numbers ending in 0,2,4,6, and 8 constitute the even-numbered side of the street.)

 During the storm, residents may use the following school parking lots to move their cars off the street: Cesar Batalla School, 606 Howard Ave.; Central High School, 1 Lincoln Blvd (Madison Avenue entrance); Geraldine Johnson School, 475 Lexington Ave.; Luis Munoz Marin School, 479 Helen St., and Jettie Tisdale School, 250 Hollister Ave. A full list of Snow Emergency parking areas can be found at the following link: www.bridgeportct.gov/snow-emergency-parking-lots

The National Weather Service is forecasting a prolonged period of snow expected late Wednesday night into Friday morning. At least six inches of snow is possible with blowing and drifting of snow due to strong winds. Continue to monitor national weather service forecasts as some uncertainty still exists in exact track of the low pressure and precipitation amounts.

Snow Emergency streets are marked with white signs with red lettering. A list of snow streets can be found on the City’s website —http://www.bridgeportct.gov/snowemergencystreets . No parking is allowed on Snow Emergency streets. Vehicles left on snow emergency streets after the ban goes into effect will be subject to fines and towing.

“Many of our streets are very narrow in highly populated areas of the City. Cooperation from all of our residents is necessary in order for our crews to be able to navigate the streets and keep roads clear,” said Mayor Finch. “Property owners can help by shoveling their sidewalks and driveways, and clearing snow around fire hydrants and curb cuts to help improve neighborhood safety. Please do not shovel snow back into the street, and above all, please obey the snow emergency parking rules.”

Updated Garbage and Recycling Pickup Schedule from the Department of Public Works: Due to the New Year’s holiday, residents whose garbage and recycling would normally have been picked up on Wednesday will now have it picked up on Thursday, Jan. 2. Garbage and recycling pickups for Thursday will be picked up on Saturday, Jan. 4. Garbage and recycling pickups for Friday will be picked up on Sunday, Jan. 5. Regular garbage and recycling schedules will resume on Monday, Jan. 6. The Transfer Station will be closed on Friday, Jan. 3 and Saturday, Jan. 4.

During the storm, residents with non-emergency, weather-related questions or concerns should call the City’s BConnected Call Center at 203.576.1311 or the Emergency Operations Center at 203.579.3829. Residents can use the City’s BConnected request system online at www.bridgeportct.gov/bconnected  or on the BConnected mobile application available on iPhone or Android smartphones to report any snow-related concerns.

“I can’t stress how important it is for residents to obey the emergency parking ban. No one wants to have their car towed, and the last thing we want to do is ticket and tow residents’ vehicles,” said Police Chief Joseph Gaudett. “So we need people’s cooperation. Plows won’t be able to clear secondary streets if cars are parked on both sides and it is essential to keep our snow emergency routes clear,” he added.

For the latest updates, resources and information about the snowstorm, residents are asked to check www.bridgeportct.gov/snow, local television and radio news outlets and follow the City of Bridgeport on Twitter and Facebook and Mayor Bill Finch on Twitterand Facebook.

Note from Bridgeport Police Dept.: Vehicles left parked on snow emergency streets after 12:01 a.m., Thursday, Jan. 2, will be subject to tagging and towing. Violating the alternate-side of the street parking rules also will result in fines. A list of snow emergency streets can be found on the City’s website by following this link:http://www.bridgeportct.gov/snowemergencystreets.

Note from Department of Public Works:

• During the snow emergency all City residents should heed alternate side of the street parking rules until the snow emergency has been lifted.
• By 12:01 a.m., on Thursday, Jan. 2 residents must move their cars to the ‘even-numbered’ side of the street to facilitate efficient snow removal. Once the ‘odd-numbered’ (house numbers ending in 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9) side of the street is clear, residents can move their car to that side of the street so crews can clear the ‘even-numbered’ (house numbers ending in 0, 2, 4, 6 and 8) side of the street. Residents can then heed the alternate side of the street parking rules until the snow emergency has been lifted (park on ‘even-numbered’ side of the street on even-numbered calendar days and ‘odd-numbered’ side of the street on odd-numbered calendar days.
• The Department of Public Works reminds all residents and business owners to shovel the sidewalk and walkways, including curb cuts, for pedestrian safety. If sidewalks are not cleared, the City may clean the sidewalk and charge the owner a fee for doing so, as well as impose a $100 per day fine for violating a City ordinance.
• Please do not shovel, or use a snow blower or plow to throw snow back into the street from your driveway or sidewalk. Anyone found throwing snow back into the street will be subject to a fine.
• Residents and business owners are also asked to clear fire hydrants and the immediate area around it of snow to improve neighborhood safety.
• The City’s Transfer Station on Asylum Street will be closed on Friday, Jan. 2 and Sat. Jan. 3.