Arlington Public Schools Canceled, Parking Ban Ahead Of Storm

ARLINGTON, MA — The Arlington Public Schools will be closed Thursday, Jan. 4, the Superintendent of Public Schools announced in an email Wednesday and the town posted online.

"The amount of snow predicted in Arlington is between 10 and 12 in. with the heaviest snow mid-morning through the afternoon. Stay safe."

And students across the town let out a collective cheer. Parents? How do you feel about all this?

Arlington has declared a snow parking ban ahead of Thursday's storm scheduled to begin at noon on Thursday. This means no parking on snow emergency route streets, and businesses and homeowners have eight hours to remove snow and ice from the sidewalk or get a ticket.

Check out this info from the town website all related to snow protocol:

Town Bylaws Regarding Snow & Ice Removal
The bylaws require residents and businesses to remove snow and ice from any sidewalks abutting their property following a storm. Residents should remove snow and ice from abutting paved sidewalks within eight hours between sunrise and sunset after a storm, businesses and owners of any residential property utilized for apartment house or multi unit condominium use that abuts a paved sidewalk have three hours. Please don’t forget to cut a path to the street if you live on a corner. It is also prohibited to move snow into the roadway. Failure to comply with these bylaws can result in a fine of $25 to $50 per day.

Parked Cars in Roadway
Cars parked in roadways during snow removal operations can impede removal progress. Residents are encouraged to park their vehicles off-street during these events so Public Works can complete the task more efficiently and with better results.

Adopt a Fire Hydrant
The Arlington Fire Department asks residents and business owners to adopt a fire hydrant in their neighborhood. When it snows, take the time to shovel around it as well as to it. A clear hydrant expedites their deployment in the event of an emergency.

Secure Trash & Recycling at Curb
Trash, recycling, and yard waste containers should be on the curb and secured in a manner to prevent them from going into the roadway and impeding snow removal operations. Bylaws require that waste be placed for collection at the curb no earlier than 6:00 p.m. the evening before scheduled collection. Items buried in snow will not be collected and if left out on the curb after your collection day may be subject to a fine. Storm conditions may require some extra planning on when to bring out your items. Please plan accordingly.

Other ways to help include: clearing any catch basins near your property and assisting neighbors who may need extra help with snow removal. The LINKS program serves many seniors in Town, but cannot serve them all.

Important Phone Numbers
Residents are reminded of the following important phone numbers and recommend you print, or otherwise make available offline should you lose power:

- Report downed electrical wires: call 911 and Eversource at 1-800-592-2000.
- Report a power outage to Eversource at 1-800-592-2000 or at eversource.com.
- Report a downed street tree or limb to DPW dispatch at 781-316-3301.

Be Alerted of Snow Emergencies/Parking Bans
When a snow emergency/parking ban it put into place, the Town will send a notification via Arlington Alerts (phone, text, and email), Town Notices (regular email list), on its social media channels (Facebook and Twitter), and the Town’s website. If you are not subscribed to these services you can do so in the Communications Center at arlingtonma.gov/subscriber.

School closing notifications are posted at http://www.arlington.k12.ma.us/home/

Photo by Jenna Fisher/Patch