S’no’w more parking on the street this weekend
When a snow ordinance is in effect, Ames residents must move their vehicles off streets marked in red or risk being ticketed and towed.
January 17, 2019
A snow ordinance from the city of Ames will take effect 6 p.m. on Friday due to a storm which may have “serious impacts to the Friday afternoon/evening commute in the Des Moines metro and Ames areas,” according to the National Weather Service. The ordinance will remain in effect until the snow has stopped and all streets along the snow route are clear.
“To assist in the plowing efforts, all Ames residents are asked to remove parked vehicles from residential streets,” according to a press release from the city of Ames. “However, only those on snow routes are required to move them.”
The snow ordinance goes into effect every time more than two inches of snow accumulate on the city’s main streets, such as Lincoln Way, Duff Avenue and Grand Avenue. The National Weather Service is predicting between 5 and 8 inches of snowfall with this storm.
The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning to take effect at noon Friday in Story County, as well as 36 other Iowa counties. The warning is expected to expire at 6 a.m. Saturday.
According to a tweet from Iowa State Weather, this storm is “potentially the largest winter storm in over 3 years in Ames.”
Heather Simmons, an occupation safety specialist, said 511 and Iowa State’s Facilities Planning and Management (FP&M) can be excellent resources for students and community members out in the snow.
The FP&M website has a form where people can submit problems with campus facilities, including icy patches.
“If I see someone, or I, slip on some ice, you know, 20 minutes ago outside Friley, I’ll call FP&M and say, ‘hey, can you get out there and take care of it?’” Simmons said. “We try, but it’s hard because a lot of people fall, and they never report it.”
Simmons said people can report during all hours of all days, and if FP&M receives a report of a potentially dangerous location, they will send someone to “take care of it.”
Travelers experiencing weather concerns can check road conditions, snow plow locations and accidents at the Department of Transportation’s 511 website.
“They actually have the travel cams on their snow plows, so you can actually see the weather conditions; you can see what the roads look like,” Simmons said. “That’s one really good resource as you’re planning to travel.”
