The Snow Emergency Parking Ban will be lifted at 7:00am on Wed, Feb 18.
- Trash/Recycling is one day behind this week due to the holiday. If your trash/recycling is not collected, please leave it out an additional day for crews to pick up. Please call Public Works with any questions, 617-349-4800.
- Residents parked at Harvard’s 52 Oxford St. Garage and MIT’s 65 Waverly St. lot must exit by 9:00am on Wednesday.
- Residents parked at Green St. Garage & One Kendall Square Garage must exit by 9:00am on Wednesday or stay, and pay for parking.
- Residents at Cambridgeside Galleria Parking Garage Levels 4 or 5, and at the City’s First Street Parking Garage can stay for free until Sunday, Feb 22 at 8:00pm. After that, they can opt to stay and pay regular fees.
Feb 16, 2015 – Cambridge Snow Operations & City Services Update
A Cambridge Snow Emergency Parking Ban remains in effect until further notice. City offices and programs will be open on Tuesday, Feb. 17. Rubbish and recycling will be one day behind schedule for the week due to President’s Day holiday.
In light of the nearly 90 inches of snow that Cambridge has received over the past three weeks, the City is taking extraordinary measures in order to maintain emergency vehicle access to all roadways. This includes:
- Removal and hauling operations to widen main arteries, secondary streets and dead-ends prioritized by public safety officials;
- Converting certain two-way streets to temporary one-way streets; and
- Maintaining the snow emergency parking ban until further notice.
1) Removal and Hauling Operations
Crews resume snow removal and hauling operations throughout Cambridge Monday, Feb 16 at 9:00pm. The City expects to have over 100 pieces of equipment on the road at this time. In addition to prioritized main arteries, crews will be addressing secondary streets and dead-ends as identified by public safety officials.
What does this operation involve?
A team of operators will use bobcats, loaders, and dump trucks to remove piles of snow, most particularly on corners and on dead-ends. Not all snow on a street will be removed, but clearing will be done to ensure emergency vehicle access.
Removal and hauling is primarily an overnight operation due to traffic challenges during daytime hours, though certain locations may be done during the day if feasible. This work is expected to take numerous evenings to complete, and may continue into next week.
How are streets selected for this operation?
Streets are selected for removal based on consensus by Public Works, Police, Fire, Emergency Communications, and Traffic & Parking that widening the street is critical for maintaining emergency access, and that standard plowing and salting operations is insufficient to achieve that access. The
purpose of these operations is to ensure emergency vehicle access. Given the huge volume of snow, the City is unable to provide removal and hauling at all streets.
2) Converting certain two-way streets to temporary one-way streets
Public safety officials are evaluating certain two way streets that have been narrowed due to snow, and will be converting some of these to temporary one-way streets. The City expects to begin this program in East Cambridge in the next several days, and potentially expand to other streets as feasible. Additional details about program will be posted once finalized.
3) Maintaining the snow emergency parking ban until further notice.
A citywide parking ban began at 7:00pm on Saturday, Feb 14 and will remain in effect until public safety officials determine it is safe to lift the ban. We thank residents for their cooperation in helping us to keep roadways clear.
We also thank local garages that have partnered with us to offer residents parking during these repeated snow emergencies. Please note that Green St Garage, First St. Garage and the 50 Oxford St. Garage are currently full. Please see alert at www.cambridgema.gov for more information about available parking.
Public Safety Is Our Top Priority
Despite the challenging weather conditions we face, the City has devoted the personnel and resources necessary to maintain public safety. We will continue snow clearing efforts into the coming week and beyond.
For more information about the City’s overall approach to snow operations, and the response to the Presidents’ Day Weekend Blizzard, see alert at www.cambridgema.gov.
Sat, Feb 14 – A Snow Emergency will go into effect starting at 7:00pm for Cambridge. Happy Valentine’s Day.
The City of Cambridge is declaring a Snow Emergency Parking Ban Saturday, Feb 14 at 7:00pm. Parking will be prohibited on streets signed No Parking during Snow Emergency. Towing operations will begin at this time. Please note that some streets may still maintain temporary no parking signs even after the ban is lifted due to the current conditions. Free off-street parking is available to Cambridge residents with Resident Parking Permits issued by the city’s Traffic, Parking and Transportation Department at the locations listed below from the time the ban goes into effect until 2 hours after it is lifted. Please note that other locations we generally make available during a ban, such as First Street and Green Street Garages, are currently full due to the current conditions.
CambridgeSide Galleria Parking Garage. Free parking is valid for the upper garage only, Levels 4 and 5; enter on First Street at Sears. Vehicles parked in the lower garage (Levels A, B & C) will be asked to pay the regular parking fees. Generally free resident parking is available from the time the declared snow emergency is in effect until 2 hours after it is lifted. Due to the extensive amount of snow that has accumulated in the area, persons with a Cambridge resident parking permit can park at this location from now until Sunday, Feb 22, 2015.
52 Oxford Garage. This is a Harvard owned and operated garage. It is open to City residents with a resident parking permit on a space available basis for no fee from the time the declared snow emergency is in effect until 2 hours after the ban is lifted. Space is limited, and availability is on a first-come, first-served basis. The University reserves the right to cease admittance due to capacity limitations and operation issues.
65 Waverly Street. This is an MIT owned surface lot at the corner of Sidney, Waverly and Erie adjacent to Fort Washington Park. Parking is free with a resident permit until 2 hours after the ban has is lifted.
One Kendall Square Garage. This is a privately owned garage next to the Kendall Square Cinema. Parking is free for Cambridge residents with a resident parking permit on their vehicle until 2 hours after the ban is lifted. The garage entrance is at 389 Binney Street.
We are currently experiencing delays in trash collection due to weather conditions. If your trash was not collected on Friday, please leave it out and it will be collected on Saturday. Check this site for more updates and information or call Public Works at 617-349-4800.
City Offices will be closed on Monday, Feb 16 in observance of the Presidents’ Day Holiday. There will be no trash or recycling pickup Monday, Feb 16, and routes will be one day behind schedule for the rest of that week. Any regular programs scheduled for Feb 14 will take place, however programs for Feb 15, including War Memorial programs, have been cancelled.
DPW crews continue to work to keep main roadways clear. Property owners are asked to do the best they can under the extremely challenging conditions to clear sidewalks, corner crossings, catch basins and fire hydrants of snow. Business owners are requested, if there is a disability parking space on the street near their storefront, to please take the extra time to shovel a clear path to that space. In particular, shovel a space wide enough so that vans with lifts can deploy the lift onto the sidewalk.
The historic amounts of snow that have fallen in the past two weeks have created special challenges for the city and the region. Even with plowing and snow removal, streets in Cambridge and the Greater Boston Area remain narrow. The MBTA continues to experience weather related failures and delays and has announced that service will be suspended on Sunday, Feb 15. Please see more on this at www.mbta.com.
Drivers should allow additional travel time, exercise patience during slower traffic patterns, and use extra caution at intersections and crosswalks. Prior to traveling, residents are asked to ensure that snow is cleared from the top of their motor vehicle to create safer conditions for those travelers around you. Drivers should use their best judgment when considering whether to park in areas where large snow piles are still alongside the curb, to ensure they do not block the flow of traffic.
Updated information will be available at www.cambridgema.gov. In addition, the public is encouraged to follow updates on Twitter at @CambMA and on Facebook at CambridgeMA.Gov. The City will be utilizing the hash tag #CambMASnow on Twitter to help the public follow the conversation. Members of the public can also call 617-349-4800 or 617-349-4700 for information. Members of the public are encouraged to sign up to receive notification of snow emergency parking bans at http://www.cambridgema.gov/AlertNetwork.
