On Sunday afternoon, Mayor Marty Walsh issued yet another snow emergency and parking ban in anticipation of two feet of snow. These will go into effect at 4 p.m. Sunday evening, and the ticketing and towing of cars will begin at 6 p.m.
Boston Public Schools are also canceled through Tuesday.
“These storms that we’re getting are unprecedented,” said the mayor of the amount of accumulation Boston has seen over the past several weeks. “There are discussions that there could be more snow at the end of the week,” he added, but the City of Boston is taking it one storm at a time.
Boston has already surpassed it’s $18 million snow budget, though Mayor Walsh did not have the exact figures available.
Mayor Walsh promised to swiftly issue tickets, violations and tow cars that aren’t compliant with the snow emergency, stating as well that 1,500 violations were issued for people and businesses that did not properly clear their sidewalk. The Boston Police Department, too, has issued 400 tickets for cars that “block the box” – vehicles that pull into intersections during heavy traffic.
Due to an increase of criticism as well, the mayor promised to extra vigilant in the ticketing front.
“We’re asking everyone if you can’t pass the box, don’t do it,” said Police Commissioner Bill Evans. “We’re asking everyone for voluntary compliance.”
In order to deal with the imminent snow as well as the massive totals that Boston is still dealing with from the previous two storms, two snow melters will add to the capacity in Hyde Park as well as the snow farms in the Seaport. Mayor Walsh has also been in discussion with New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio about possibly borrowing melters by the end of the week.
Added Mayor Walsh, “We’ve plowed every single street in the City of Boston during every snow storm.”
Currently 350 pieces of snow clearing equipment are on the city’s roadways widening streets, plowing streets and salting streets. Gov. Charlie Baker is expected to address the public Sunday afternoon to talk about how the state is faring with snow operations and if
The City of Cambridge is also enacting a snow emergency and parking ban at 4 p.m.
“All of us are learning about snow more than we want to learn about snow,” joked Mayor Walsh.
