Wright City public works will have more power to clear the city’s roads during snow storms after the board of aldermen passed an ordinance increasing the city’s response to those events at their Feb. 13 meeting. 

“This is the ordinance that we talked about where we can announce snow emergencies,” said Mayor Michelle Heiliger. “Basically it gives the city the opportunity for people who do not move their cars off the road and all of that, that they can be ticketed.”

The ordinance allows the mayor or city clerk to send out notifications of a “snow emergency” for up to 48 hours and require that all cars parked on public streets must be moved to allow snow plow crews to clear the roads. 

The ordinance also established penalties for any vehicles that are not moved in time to allow snow plow crews to do their work. 

Penalties for non-compliance include a warning on the first offense and a fine not to exceed $50 on subsequent offenses, although the ordinance provides the  Wright City Police Department with some other enforcement tools as well. 

According to the ordinance, “any vehicles in violation of these sections may be ticketed or towed at the discretion of the city police department.”

“This obviously came from our last big snowstorm where we had issues with roads not being able to be cleared because cars were parked on the sides of the streets and so residents were unhappy,” said Alderman Karey Owens. “But this gives us at least something, some teeth in the game.”

City officials were clear that the ordinance required advance notification before any cars were ticketed or towed and that citizens would be informed through social media. The city has also been in discussion with Warren County Emergency Management Agency Director Jim Sharp about using the Code Red notification system to notify residents of a “snow emergency.”

The ordinance also requires that residents move any other obstructions to snow clearing from the road, like basketball hoops or trash cans. 

There are exceptions for those who cannot move their car into a driveway, and for emergency vehicles that are outlined in the ordinance. 

According to the ordinance there are exemptions for “vehicles owned by persons parking their vehicle adjacent to their residence located on a collector or minor street and for which residence no driveway exists and no immediate off-street parking is available.”

It is worth noting that other nearby municipalities have similar ordinances and the city of Warrenton will also tow cars in the event they are impeding progress clearing roads.