Nearly 3,000 Vehicles Ticketed During Snow Emergencies in Dearborn

Over the past few weeks, the city had to declare four separate snow emergencies after three major snowstorms hit southeast Michigan in close proximity.

During that time, 2,841 vehicles were issued tickets for parking on Dearborn streets during the snow emergencies.

Though it is certainly not ideal to be shelling out hefty tickets to residents for parking in the street during snow emergencies, it is extremely important that all streets are clear so they can be plowed quickly and efficiently.

"The city and the police department are mindful that snow emergencies can be inconvenient for people, especially those without adequate off-street parking for all of their vehicles," said Mary Laundroche, the city's Department of Public Information director. "We balance that inconvenience with the need to keep the roads safe, to allow emergency vehicles to pass, to allow for trash and recycling pickup, to make sure kids can get safely to school after the storms pass, and so that residents park easily on cleared streets after the event ends."

The city notifies residents about snow emergencies in a variety of ways: Sounding sirens multiple times at the onset of the emergency, sending alerts out on Nixle and on the City of Dearborn's website, and reaching out through social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, Laundroche said.

Here is a breakdown of how many ticket were issued during each snow emergency:

Dec. 15, 2013: 1,193 Vehicles cited

January 2, 2014: 859 Vehicles cited

January 3, 2014: 187 Vehicles cited

January 6, 2014: 602 Vehicles cited

"Even without a snow emergency we tell people to pay attention to weather forecasts," Laundroche said. "And it is always a good idea to remove parked vehicles from the streets if 3 inches or more of snow is predicted."

Tickets issued during a snow emergency cost $80, or $40 if paid within three days.