MANCHESTER, N.H. – At the end of the Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen Committee on Public Safety, Health and Traffic, questions were asked regarding the city’s response regarding illegally parked cars during last weekend’s snow storm.
Ward 3 Alderman Pat Long brought up the topic after hearing frustration that some people in the city felt that ticketing was done arbitrarily.
Members of the committee learned that approximately 160 to 180 cars were towed across the city, although 400 cars in total were estimated to be in violation of the city’s emergency weather parking ban.
Manchester Police Department Chief Allen Aldenburg stated that tickets were given to illegally parked cars at the guidance of the Department of Public Works, although police found themselves in a triage situation given that there were only four officers for the entire city assigned to the emergency weather parking detail.
Ward 10 Alderman Bill Barry said that in his ward, he has seen the same violators on a regular basis, insinuating that a more targeted response regarding ticketing could help alleviate the staff shortage.
Members of the committee indicated that providing overtime pay to Parking Control officers could help alleviate the enforcement manpower shortage as well and said they would be interested in starting a discussion on the topic.
Earlier in the committee meeting, the committee recommended allowing a portion of Arms Park to be used for a 100th birthday celebration for inventor Ralph Baer on May 21. A total of 150 participants are expected.
The committee also recommended a review of adding a second left turning signal at the end of the Amoskeag Bridge that would allow two lanes to turn northbound onto Elm Street.
The Manchester Department of Public Works indicated that it supported modifying the center lane at the Amoskeag/Elm eastbound intersection into a second left-turning lane, indicating that it could cut wait times for vehicles turning left in half during peak morning drive times.
