It snows in Wisconsin - get over it! I am tired of hearing this retort posed against complaints of incompetent snow removal in Madison this past week.
I'll concede that snow followed by sleet is a particularly nasty combination. However, the absurdly delayed and inadequate plowing of downtown side streets a week after Saturday's storm is ridiculous. To this day. parking downtown remains a disaster.
During a declared Snow Emergency,"" as prompted by last Saturday and Tuesday's storms, downtown residents were encouraged to park in the city parking ramps. A reasonable request, so I complied with this suggestion Tuesday night to make one less car to plow around, as well as to avoid spinning tires and aggravating snow shoveling the following morning.
I learned my lesson Sunday after complying with alternate-side parking rules only to find myself plowed in and then battle with ice that adorned my car.
When I went to move my car from the ramp Wednesday around 10 a.m., figuring any plowing would surely be complete by then, I quickly learned any attempt to move my car was futile. Not only had the side streets not been plowed, but also huge mounds of snow, eliminating dozens of parking spaces, remained untouched from Sunday.
Barring hiring a helicopter to airlift my vehicle on top of one of the 4-foot snow and ice piles lining the streets, there was nowhere to park my car. So I begrudgingly left it in the ramp and headed to class.
If the city does not properly remove snow from side streets after four days, parking in the ramps does not effectively solve the problem.
It could be argued that if more people used the ramps in the first place, it would be easier for plows to clear the side streets. However, there's not enough parking to accommodate all residents and ramp parking comes at a price. During a ""Snow Emergency,"" parking in the ramps is only free between 1 a.m. and 7 a.m.
How is parking for free after 1 a.m. worthwhile? If the city wants residents to park in the ramps during snow emergencies to assist snow removal procedures, is it unreasonable to expect that free parking begin at a more practical (and safe) hour?
It is also unreasonable to expect students, who are often on a tight budget, to pay by the hour to park their car in the ramp. Shoveling to get out of a parking space is one thing, but shoveling to get into a parking space - that's absurd. It is also difficult to comply with alternate-side parking rules when there are no parking spaces on either side of the road. It is quite literally, a snowball effect.
Another annoying retort is to leave your car at home then, or quit complaining. I personally would love nothing more than not to have my car in Madison. It would be impossible to make it to classes using the city bus system, since I barely make it on time with my car. Many students rely on their car to get them to work or an internship on a tight schedule.
In the midst of news reports of ""More Snow to Blanket Madison Area"" and ""You're Screwed: Dig Your Way Out of This One,"" it was encouraging to hear the alders from the east Isthmus are calling for a better plan to clean up downtown streets after snowfalls like those in the past week.
Alders proposed ""Snow Action Days,"" during which downtown city ramps would be free starting at 9 p.m. instead of 1 a.m. along with free rides on Madison Metro and bus routes given higher priority for plowing.
Suggestion No. 1 is a good start, but suggestion No. 2 seems a bit pointless. It is doubtful this will prompt people who do not already use the bus system during snowstorms to start, and riding the bus is already free for students. In addition, conditions at bus stops are notoriously terrible following snowstorms. And how does this aid snow removal efforts?
The alders - Brenda Konkel, District 2, Marsha Rummel, District 6, and Satya Rhodes-Conway, District 12 - also suggested acquiring smaller plows to maneuver around the narrower dowtown streets and to clean up after the larger plows. This has the potential to vastly improve the downtown parking quandary of snow mounds left by large plows, eliminating already sparse parking spaces. As for their proposal to increase ticket fines, I'll deal with fines if they made it easier for those of us actually complying with snow emergency procedures to get off the street, or park on the ""correct"" side.
Hopefully this proposal is just a starting point, and officials can work with constituents to find practical solutions to remedy the problem. Who knows better than students living downtown about the absurdities of winter parking in Madison? Let's offer some suggestions in addition to complaints.
I'll start. If the city will allow free parking until 7 a.m., how about plowing the streets before then so cars have a place to move to, or pushing back the time if this is ""not possible""?
This is Michelle's final column in The Daily Cardinal. Please send responses to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
