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To maintain city services and access for emergency vehicles, significant winter snowstorms may result in the City of Ann Arbor declaring an on-street snow parking ban. Vehicles not abiding the ban may be ticketed and/or towed. The city prefers 100% voluntary compliance instead of tickets or towing vehicles.
How will I know?
An on-street parking ban will be announced in many ways:
Streets were examined for the amount of off street parking in addition to any other features that would make parking difficult or impossible. A good example of this is Pittsfield Village, where driveways do not exist and little off-street parking is available.
Each section of street exempted from the ban was examined by staff using aerial imagery and an on-site visit to estimate, to the extent possible, if enough space exists for residents to park off the street.
The city ordinance requires at least 12 hours advance notice of a ban going into effect. It is also important that residents keep an eye out for weather information and updates to anticipate when a ban might be called as any event greater than 4" of predicted snow could trigger an on-street parking ban.
Residents, students and commuters should think about and plan when and how they might have to move their car during the winter. Here are some tips:
Prepare a "Snow Parking Plan":
Create a go-to plan for your household or employees:
If working downtown or commuting in:
Washtenaw County can declare a red or yellow winter travel bulletin when they determine road conditions are not safe for travel. This is generally not issued in advance and is communicated via the county's Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) system, which is opt-out, meaning you have to ask the county to remove your phone number.
The City of Ann Arbor's on-street snow parking ban would be called in advance of a storm using the Everbridge alert system, an opt-in system meaning you have to request to be added, along with the city's other communications channels.
In the event an on-street parking ban has been declared and the country issues a red or yellow winter travel bulletin, people would not be required to move their cars.
The City of Ann Arbor helps provide temporary parking options for residents during an on-street snow parking ban, including limited access at select parks and free parking at two downtown structures.
One-time parking will be available for up to 48 hours after the ban takes effect at:
Free parking will be available during snow emergency on-street parking bans at two city-owned parking structures, the Ann & Ashley Parking Structure (220 N. Ashley Street) and the Forest Avenue Parking Structure (650 South Forest Avenue), subject to the following conditions:
