Town may tighten
snow, parking laws
JAMESBURG — An ordinance may soon be in place to fine residents who blow snow into the streets.
Mayor Tony LaMantia said there has been an ongoing problem with residents using snowblowers to move snow from their driveways and into streets that have already been plowed.
The Borough Council discussed making changes to the borough’s current snow ordinance at its Dec. 17 meeting, as officials said the existing law has not done enough to discourage people from blowing snow into the streets.
Borough Business Administrator Denise Jawidzik said the extra snow in the streets creates a hazardous situation for motorists since it leaves unexpected piles of snow on an otherwise plowed road.
"People are driving through and hitting a patch of snow they didn’t expect since the rest of the road is clear," Jawidzik said last week.
She suggested a fine of $250 for violators and added that the Public Works Department should be able to enforce the ordinance since its workers are often witness to the problem.
"I’m looking for enforcement power for public works and to increase the penalty," Jawidzik said.
The current penalty is $25 for blowing snow in the streets or for failure to remove snow from the sidewalks.
"You wouldn’t believe the number of people who do this; it’s really dangerous," she said.
LaMantia agreed that the problem is widespread.
"It’s not hard to see. All you have to do is drive around and you’ll see [people blowing snow into the streets]," LaMantia said.
Jawidzik said roads often need to be plowed again as a result.
"They’re causing a lot of extra work for the road department," Jawidzik said.
Jawidzik added that it is likely there will be no warning issued for a first offense.
Council members also discussed changing the current parking rules since the current ordinance can be "confusing." Officials said that some of the more narrow streets are difficult to plow when cars are parked on both sides.
People are supposed to alternate which side of the street they park on each day during the snow season.
"I’m quite sure that nobody is aware we do have alternate-side parking in this town," Jawidzik said.
Jawidzik suggested that the ordinance be changed to have people park on the side of the street with odd addresses during odd-numbered years, and on the side of the street with even addresses during even-numbered years, rather than going by whether the date is odd or even.
"The ordinance in place is for odd house numbers on odd dates," she said. "It’s too confusing."
— Tara Petersen