New Parking Ordinance Should Speed Up Snowplowing, Says Moorestown Cop

An ordinance aimed at making sure township streets are clear in the event of an emergency will likely hasten snowplowing—assuming it ever snows this winter.

Last week, township council passed (on first reading) an amendment to its emergency parking ordinance, which will restrict parking on certain streets in the event of an emergency, i.e. a hurricane, a tornado or, more likely, a snowstorm.

Traffic safety officer Sgt. Randy Pugh, with , crafted the ordinance with input from about 30 or 40 other municipalities across the state.

The ordinance will allow the township to issue, in the event of or forecast of an emergency, an emergency proclamation prohibiting parking on certain streets or certain parts of streets. The proclamation can be broadcast through a variety of mediums, including the township website, reverse 911, and/or the local news media.

While the ordinance is meant to cover all the aforementioned emergency/disaster scenarios (think also), Pugh believes it will be most advantageous during snowstorms.

“For as many years as I’ve been with the department—about 40 years—the issue comes up almost every single winter, with vehicles parked in the streets when plowing needs to be done,” he said. “We had situations last year where cars effectively shut down the street.”

This causes aggravation for both the employees who have to plow around the offending vehicles and the owners of said vehicles who get plowed in.

With the ordinance—and the $75 fine, plus court costs that goes with it—Pugh is expecting many of those problems will be mitigated.

“It’s going to ,” he said. “I think we’ll get a high level of compliance. I don’t envision the police department going out and towing cars”—though they will if they have to.

Pugh also theorized the increased cooperation from residents will help the township save on fuel costs, since plows (hypothetically) won’t have to take their time plowing around obstructing vehicles or idling in the road while residents scramble to move their cars.

He suggested residents who don’t have the luxury of off-street parking search for an alternate location to park their vehicles now so they’re ready if/when the snow hits.

“Now that I’ve gone to the trouble of creating this ordinance, it won’t snow this winter,” said Pugh, who claimed he was laying awake at night thinking of the ordinance. “So people should love me for that.”

To view the full ordinance, click here. Township council will consider the ordinance for final adoption at its Feb. 13 meeting.

Council also passed (on first reading) an ordinance establishing a 35 mph speed limit for all of New Albany Road and imposing a “No Stopping or Standing” restriction on sections of Kings Highway and Pleasant Valley Avenue. To view that ordinance in its entirety, click here.