The problem: A West Baltimore street is now a snow emergency route.
The back story: Patricia Hall has been living — and parking — on North Bentalou Street for more than 30 years. Over those decades, she said she and her neighbors have weathered snowstorm after snowstorm, and vigilantly shoveled drifts to allow pedestrians to pass.
That's why she was surprised when, in December, her granddaughter pointed out new signs declaring her block part of a "snow emergency route."
When city officials declare Phase II of a snow emergency, parking is banned along the routes for 12-hour periods. White signs prohibit parking from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., and black signs enforce a 9 p.m.-9 a.m. ban.
Hall was concerned because her neighborhood doesn't offer many parking alternatives nearby. Residents can't park in the alley, she said, and the retired principal was worried about walking long distances after dark.
"Unless I'm expected to make my yard a parking lot, there's really no place to park," she said.
Hall called the mayor's office for answers and said she was told that it was a snow route because Carver Vocational-Technical High School is on Bentalou Street. "That school has been there since before I moved here. Why now?" she asked.
Many readers were frustrated by snow emergency rules during the winter of 2010's severe storms. Residents in some neighborhoods wanted to heed the rules but didn't know where to move their cars. When the city directed drivers to take their cars to some school and stadium parking lots, the residents found them unplowed.
So Watchdog contacted the Department of Transportation to find out how snow emergency routes are designated and why North Bentalou Street is suddenly one.
Adrienne Barnes, a spokeswoman for the agency, said transportation officials select snow routes based on several criteria. Major arterial roads and gateways are snow routes, as well as bus routes and streets where fire stations, hospitals, schools or police stations are located.
Parked vehicles on these roads hinder snow-removal efforts. "It makes it difficult for plows to maneuver around," she said.
After February's back-to-back storms, the transportation department assessed its snow routes in the spring to make sure correct, clear signs were in place, and checked to see if any new streets required signs, Barnes said.
Bentalou from North Avenue to Edmondson Avenue is a snow route because of the school, Barnes said, and a bus route. According to department records, the signs on Bentalou were missing.
Barnes said the signs were installed well before this winter season started. The news disappointed Hall.
"Missing means they were here and gone," she said. "But they were never here."
According to Barnes, the transportation agency has worked with the school system to ensure that Carver's parking lots would be ready if needed. Should another emergency be declared, "we will make a very big effort to plow those lots so there will be available parking," she said, adding that transportation staff would also work to make other parking available, such as garages.
If a snow emergency is declared, all of the alternative locations will be posted on a city website snow page: http://www.baltimorecity.gov/Government/AgenciesDepartments/Transportation.aspx. Radio and television stations should broadcast the information, and residents can also call 311.
Barnes noted that, after announcing a Phase II, the city waits 48 hours before issuing tickets and towing vehicles on snow routes.
"We try to give some leeway before we start that effort," she said. "We don't want people to feel rushed or pressured."
Still, Hall worries about missing an update. "It puts the onus on the driver, really," she said.
Who can fix this: Randall Scott, the Department of Transportation's traffic division chief, 443-984-2150. City residents should call 311 to report problems.
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