Dealing with more than a foot of snow in a major city like Philadelphia can be rough for even the most seasoned city dweller. Especially, when the city is forced to redirect crews from doing their normal jobs to help clear snow drifts. Here are some tips to help you deal with the current snow trouble.
WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR TRASH?
Between the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday and Tuesday’s winter storm, trash pickup is way behind schedule. Some people dropped their trash to the curb on Monday, others missed the city’s warning and did it Tuesday. And some people have trash waiting to be put out for Wednesday and later this week.
Philadelphia Streets Department Deputy Commissioner Donald Carlton says starting Thursday, the Streets Department is going to start collecting the trash set out on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.
Residents who were supposed to set out their trash on Tuesday are being asked to hold that waste until next week. Carlton says people already dropped their waste on the curb should bring it back inside.
“We don’t want to leave it there and have a windy day and have it blow down the street,” he said.
Citizens who have driveways are also being asked to move the trash down to the curb. Workers will not take trash from driveways that are not clear of snow.
Sanitation workers will be working hard to catch up with the collections by this weekend, however, Carlton said the weather may make that difficult.
“It’s going to be slow going,” he said. “It’s going to be pretty rough with the trash being buried and there may be some icy conditions where some of our guys can’t walk because of ice or even have trouble with some of the trucks.”
He asks for residents to have patience and understand that crews will get their trash.
WHAT TO DO WITH ALL THAT SNOW?
Home and business owners in Philadelphia are required to shovel a 3-foot wide path along the sidewalk outside their property. At his after-storm press briefing on Wednesday, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter warned residents to not “put snow back in the streets.”
So, what do you do with all that snow?
“They can still put it on their sidewalks as long as they leave a 30-inch path,” said Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management spokeswoman Joan Przybylowicz.
City officials say you could try to pile the snow in your front yard or, if you don’t have a yard, post it up next to your stoop.
“Tossing the snow into the street is only going to make it more difficult for people to drive ,” she said. “There’s just not a lot of room to put it. We just ask for patience."
WHAT TO DO ABOUT PARKING YOUR CAR?
Regardless of what city officials say, there will be snow tossed into the street – or more likely thrown into voids between parked cars. That will undoubtedly make parking more sparse and difficult.
Depending on what part of the city you live, parking in the wrong place could easily earn you a ticket or tow. Even parking too close to a corner could cost you.
Marty O’Rourke from the Philadelphia Parking Authority suggests people report unplowed streets to the Streets Department to ensure the most parking spots are available on the street. Also, to "park in a manner that does not occupy two spaces."
If there’s parking garage in your neighborhood, it might cost less to keep your car there than risk getting a ticket. The PPA is extending its $5 a day parking rate at certain Center City garages until 7:30 a.m. Thursday. Those garages are:
- AutoPark at JFK (16th & JFK)
- AutoPark at Independence Mall (5th & Market Streets)
- AutoPark at Jefferson (10th & Ludlow Streets)
- AutoPark at the Gallery (10th & Filbert Streets)
- Auto Park at Old City (2nd & Sansom Streets)
- 8th & Filbert Streets Garage
O’Rourke asks that people avoid parking too close to corners, not reserve spaces with trash cans, chairs or whatever other object you can find and to give themselves extra time to make sure they find a legal spot.
And when in doubt, read the signs and "obey posted time limits and parking regulations."
Contact Vince Lattanzio at 610.668.5532, vince.lattanzio@nbcuni.com or follow @VinceLattanzio on Twitter.
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