Winter Parking Ban Goes Into Effect in Durham

As of Nov. 1, no vehicles may be parked on the streets of Durham from 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. in accordance with the Town of Durham's winter parking ban. The ban will be in effect until April 1.
    Any cars found parked on the roads during that time will be ticketed $20 and could be towed.
    For residents of Durham this is nothing new, but for incoming freshman this could come as a surprise. The DPD wants to make sure all students know so as to avoid unneeded ticketing and towing.
    "No changes have been made to the ordinances," said Lieutenant Sean Kelly of the DPD. "They've gone unchanged for at least 20 years."
    With the price of a ticket and towing up to around $140, it is in everyone's best interest to remember the ban.
    Kelly said that the DPD will generally only do one or the other: write a ticket or tow the car. It all depends on whether there is a snow emergency or not.
    If your car does end up getting towed, you can call the DPD at 868-2324 and they will tell you where your car has been towed.
Nicholas Capano, a senior here at UNH, knows the price of forgetting about the parking ban.
    "Being a transfer student, I didn't know about [the ban] until I got the ticket," said Capano of his $50 ticket, "a warning would have been nice."
    But the DPD has taken a strict no-tolerance policy for the parking ban. First time offenders will be ticketed just the same as everyone else.
    Even the towing company doesn't take too much enjoyment in the removal of vehicles from areas that need to be plowed.
    When asked about the work they do, an employee at Smitty's, the local towing garage, described it as "cold and hard work."
    But people should be reminded that the Durham winter parking ban and the UNH winter parking ban are two different things.
    The UNH winter parking ban applies to all the parking lots associated with the university and starts at 12 a.m. instead of 1 a.m. and goes until 6 a.m. The UNH parking ban will go into effect at the first sign of snow or December 1, depending on which one comes first.
    "If anyone has any questions I suggest looking at our website," said UNH Parking Supervisor Jeff Parsons. "Everything is there."
    Two exempt and weather conditional lots exist as an alternative location for students to park. But the terms of use are different for each parking lot. This and more information about UNH's winter parking ban can found at www.unh.edu/transportation/parking/winterparkingban.
    With the Durham parking ban in effect and the UNH parking ban just around the corner, students need to remember to move their cars or pay the price.
    "I was angry," said Michael Mannolini, another senior here at UNH who has received a ticket in the past, "It won't happen again."