City Declares Snow Emergency

The Portsmouth Public Works Department has declared a snow emergency Tuesday morning as a winter storm continues to dump heavy snow on the city.

Steve Parkinson, director of the city's public works department, issued a press release saying the snow emergency would go into effect on Tuesday at 8 a.m. He said the downtown geographical area parking ban would go effect at 1 a.m. on Wednesday.

"Because of the current weather forecast, no vehicle shall be parked on any City street during the emergency to provide access for plow operations and emergency vehicles. Violators will be ticketed and towed. Public Works will issue a termination to the Snow Emergency once the winter storm has stopped and the streets are cleared," according to Parkinson.

According to public works officials, the city's downtown geographical area encompasses: Deer Street on the north; Market, Bow and Marcy Streets on the east; Court Street on the South; and Middle, Maplewood and Bridge Streets on the West. This area includes State Street (Middle to Marcy), Chestnut Street, Porter Street, Fleet Street, Court Place, Church Street, Pleasant Street (Court to Congress), Penhallow Street, Custom House Court, Sheafe Street, Chapel Street, Daniel Street, Congress Street, Market Street (Congress to Deer), Ladd Street, High Street and Hanover Street (Bridge to Market). Islington Street (Maplewood to Brewster) is also included in this area.