We Missed the Snow Tow Night

Our favorite winter event in years past:

• Brian Johnson went outside to start his girlfriend’s car in West Garfield Park early Monday when he saw his car getting towed because it was in violation of the winter parking ban. “My heart dropped. It sucked,” Johnson, 30, said. “I parked, literally, in front of my apartment, so to get that tow from my apartment is crazy.”

  Johnson, who had to find a way to 103rd Street and Doty Avenue to retrieve the car, was one of 227 drivers who had their morning upended by the start of the parking ban. The ban is enforced on 107 miles of main streets from 3 a.m. to 7 a.m. daily from Dec. 1 to April 1, according to the city’s Department of Streets and Sanitation.

  The 227 tows on the first night of the ban were the lowest in four years and the second-lowest this decade. Last year, 244 cars were towed, while 263 cars were hauled away in 2023, according to the department.

  Those who violate the parking ban will be towed and face a minimum $150 towing fee, a $60 ticket, and a storage fee of $25 per day. Vehicles are towed to auto pounds at 10301 S. Doty Ave. or 701 N. Sacramento Ave.

So a quick $53,345 ripped from taxpayer wallets, helped along by the seven-to-ten inches of snow over the weekend....which may have activated further snow route parking restrictions? We can't remember exactly.

It was also noted in the article (and a couple comment sections) that the city continued it's long standing tradition of NOT plowing the neighborhoods (and many main streets) until the snow tapered off and even then, taking their time getting there. So all those people who might have wanted to find alternate parking, couldn't, leading to more tows and more fines.