RED BANK: FRIGGIN' BLIZZARD WARNING IN EFFECT

Even Baby Goku’s superhuman strength will not keep this car’s owner from getting a ticket if they don’t move it before the storm. (Photo by Brian Donohue. Click to enlarge.)

By BRIAN DONOHUE

Everybody ready for, like, two feet of snow? How about higher fines if you don’t move your car off the street in future storms?

Both are on the table. Contiuet reading for all the details on the storm and its Red Bank-specific related headaches.

First, the ugly forecast. The National Weather Service upgraded the winter storm watch in effect for the greater Red Bank area to a blizzard warning Saturday morning. The service’s subsequent 5 pm update provided no comfort.

Snow could begin as early as Sunday morning, but the heaviest snow is forecast for overnight Sunday into Monday morning. Coastal Monmouth and Ocean Counties find themselves directly in the bullseye, with forecast accumulations of 18 to 24 inches. Winds could gust up to 40-50 miles per hour.

In Red Bank Saturday, police were placing bright pink warning notices in English and Spanish on car windshields along streets identified as areas where higher numbers of vehicle owners violated the emergency on street parking ban during a big snowstorm last month.

By ordinance, on-street parking is banned once a road becomes snow-covered.

Cars on River Street with emergency parking ban warnings Saturday. (Photo by Brian Donohue)

A total of 283 vehicles were issued summonses for violating the ban last month, the highest total in recent memory.

The borough allows residents with no access to a driveway to park in borough-owned lots. The Borough web site directs residents to this page on the borough web site for more info.

The lack of compliance with the law during last month’s storm sparked discussion among members of the Borough Council at the February 12 meeting over the need to possibly raise the fine from the current $38.

Council member Ben Forest called emergency parking regulations the “number one issue” he’s heard residents telling him about over the past month. That included one gentleman he spoke with who left his car on the street, “because it’s actually cheaper to just keep the car here.”

“He said this right to my face,” Forest said of the resident who apparently can’t muster up much empathy for the bleary-eyed plow drivers forced to zig-zag around his ride.

“Is that something we have to revisit?” Forest asked Borough Manager Jim Gant, referring to the fine.

“That’s the challenge,” Gant replied. “That’s something I heard during this past storm as well.”

“I’ve gotten a lot of feedback from people who say during snowstorms we should have a different schedule of ticketing to increase the fine,” Gant said.

Gant said getting cars off the street is important for the plow drivers to be able to clear the streets.

“You see the challenge it creates for us,” he said. “Especially when we have a snow of this significance, we really do need them to go out of their way to come up with a plan for themselves. I know it’s difficult, I know it’s not ideal for everybody.”

One more bit of info: On Saturday, the borough also announced there will be no trash pickup Monday, February 23 as a result of the expected storm.

If your regular collection day falls on this day, pickup will take place on Tuesday, February 24.

edbankgreen editor Brian Donohue may be reached via email at [email protected] or by calling or texting 848-331-8331.

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