Ahead of a winter storm expected to bring heavy snow to eastern Iowa starting Wednesday night, Cedar Rapids has declared a 24-hour snow emergency beginning at 6 a.m. on Thursday. During the emergency, which is scheduled to last until noon on Saturday, on-street parking on the city’s posted snow emergency routes is prohibited.
“Vehicles in violation during a snow emergency may be ticketed and/or towed,” according to the city.
A complete list of the posted snow emergency routes in Cedar Rapids is available online. The city is also encouraging people parked on streets that aren’t emergency routes “to use the odd/even rule” and park on the even-numbered addresses side of the street on even-numbered days and the odd side on odd-numbered days in order to help clear the way for snow plows.
“The Odd/Even rule does not apply to any street where the alternate side parking would conflict with permanently posted parking restrictions,” the Cedar Rapids Department of Public Works said. “Normal parking rules will apply on all arterial (or main) streets throughout Cedar Rapids.”
North Liberty is also prohibiting on-street parking from 9 p.m. on Wednesday to 9 p.m. on Friday because of the winter storm.
“Prohibiting on-street parking during snow emergencies ensures city streets are clear for effective snow removal,” the city said in a news release.” Any vehicles in violation of the ordinance may be ticketed and towed without notice. Each 12-hour period that a vehicle is parked or remains on any public street in violation of this ordinance constitutes a separate and distinct offense.”
The city is recommending anyone without access to off-street parking use “the southern parking lot, near the gazebo, at Penn Meadows Park, 310 N. Dubuque St, and at the Community Center, 520 W. Cherry St, along the west side of the building, which the Parks Department prioritizes clearing.”
Iowa City isn’t prohibiting on-street parking during the winter storm, but the city put out a statement on Wednesday “urging all residents to park their cars off-street so plows can efficiently clear roads of snow.”
“If off-street parking is not an option, the City urges residents to avoid parking directly across the street from other parked cars. This gives snow plow operators as much space as possible. Please follow odd/even parking guidelines on streets with this signage.”
On Wednesday, the Iowa City Department of Resource Management announced curbside collection of compost is canceled on Thursday because of the weather forecast. Trash and recycling collection will not be affected, according to the department.
