nothin 240 Cars Tagged, Towed Overnight; Forecast… | New Haven Independent

240 Cars Tagged, Towed Overnight; Forecast Downgraded; Ray Cuts A Bartender A Break

Aliyya Swaby Photo

As Ray Willis and Joe Canzanella finished giving out tickets on State Street, a bartender ran out of JP Dempseys to her car yelling, No, no, no, no, no, no!”

She beat the two enforcement officers and Anthony’s tow trucks to the vehicle and stalled in the middle of the road, asking for help finding available parking during the blizzard.

She is one of several drivers Monday night who managed to move their cars off of the emergency snow route before being ticketed and towed. Others were not so lucky.

Learning from mistakes in past storms, the city was serious about enforcing a parking ban as Winter Storm Juno got underway Monday night. The city’s traffic department hit all neighborhoods. It had over 240 cars tagged and towed so plows can keep up with a blizzard forecast to dump 24 – 36 inches of snow on the streets, according to city transit chief Doug Hausladen. Officials got the word out clearly, early, to people all over town, then followed up with enforcement; the effort paid off, with fewer cars to tow than in past years. Cars are banned from all downtown streets and from the odd sides of neighborhood streets through noon Thursday. (Free parking is available at school lots and various garages. Parking ban details here.)

Staff is heading home for rest; first crew is here at 7am and will be hitting the downtown again and then moving back into Fair Haven and the Heights,” Hausladen reported at 2:40 a.m. Crews were to hit the streets again at 8 a.m.

City staffers Willis and Canzanella drove what they called the most convoluted route” around the city, registering tickets for any and all cars on either side of the street. In two and a half hours, they tagged about 16 cars in four different sections of the city, including parts of downtown, East Rock and the Hill — a small number, compared to last year, they said.

Aliyya Swaby Photo

Mohler divvies routes on a map of the city.

Hausladen, director of the transportation department, said his staff has been placing fliers on parked cars, letting drivers know how to sign up for the city’s notification system. it’s a better level of communication than the department has ever seen,” he said.

Thirteen people from the department were either out on the streets enforcing” or coordinating from the 200 Orange St. headquarters Monday night, he said. He and Mike Mohler, the deputy transit director, divvied up five neighborhood routes among 10 officers driving around in pairs. The officers and what Hausladen called a phalanx of trucks” headed out at around 8 p.m.

Don’t get into any arguments,” Hausladen warned before they left. Any issues, check in with me.”

Willis and Canzanella tried to keep their interactions low-key, especially with people pleading them to stop the towing. They let people who show up before we get there” drive away, Willis said. We’d rather extend courtesies when we can,” rather than take people’s vehicles during a major storm.

Where can I park?” the bartender asked the officers as she stalled her car perpendicular to State Street.

You’ve got to be on the even side of a non-snow route,” Willis responded.

I’m getting out of work right now, so tell me what I need to do,” she said. Babe, I do not want a ticket. I’m going to be here for five or 10 minutes.” Willis insisted firmly that she leave immediately, and she drove off.

Samurai

Canzanella and Willis.

It was Canzanella’s first time working the blizzard shift. Willis, the department’s seasoned parking enforcement field supervisor, showed him the ropes.

When do we go until?” Canzanella asked earnestly.

Until the city is safe,” Willis said with a smile. I did print out some samurai philosophy if you’re feeling down, mostly dealing with honor in death …You take the word samurai and replace it with traffic enforcement officers.”

Driving down a car-free stretch of State Street, Willis attributed the lack of vehicles to people being aware. Last year, there were quite a few more cars.”

A few cars were standing in parking spaces, which is legal; Willis and Canzanella pulled up alongside them, making sure the drivers were O.K. and aware of the parking ban. One woman in a car on Whitney Avenue near Audubon Street said she was waiting for someone to get out of work.

There were no cars parked on Union Avenue, which Willis called impressive. The scene changed as the pair turned right onto Church Street South, at the side of the housing complex. Tow trucks fanned out to target between 10 and 15 cars parked on both sides of the wide street. People raced out of the building and into the blizzard, in some cases wearing just thin T‑shirts and sweatpants.

A few ran across the street to get their vehicles before the trucks got them, including one man who said a police officer had O.K.‘d his stay. Another man left his family as they sledded down a hill at the side of Church Street South, to find a place to move his van.

A couple of Anthony’s tow truck operators took money directly from vehicle owners in exchange for lowering and releasing the cars — the standard snow emergency tow fee” of $88. Though unorthodox,” Willis said, it’s to the benefit of the car owner not to drive down and pay” the towing company later.

A truck had already taken one car belonging to a large family in Church Street South, as several members spilled down the steps to the road. Willis tried to let them secure the freedom of the other car, but the battery was dead.

It’s illegal to have an inoperable vehicle on a city street,” Willis said, as the operator started to finagle it onto the truck lift. There’s a reason for the rules, even if the rules are not very fun.”

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