LAWRENCE — With cars parked against snowbanks on both sides, Robert Heinze watched as a bus and then a firetruck got stuck on Howard Street. A firefighter helped the bus driver, and then the driver of the firetruck navigated the maze of parked cars.
"It's a lucky thing that he was not on an emergency call," said Heinze, of 525 Howard St.
After the bus and firetruck passed, a long line of drivers waited to pass.
Others got fed up with the "mess," turned around, and drove back toward East Haverhill Street, he said of the spectacle late last week.
"When there are cars parked on both sides of the street, it really causes a jam up," said Heinze, whose family has owned his Prospect Hill house for 75 years.
Everybody wants firetrucks and buses to get into their neighborhoods when they need them. But already narrow city streets combined with enormous snowbanks and cars parked on both sides have caused dangerous and, sometimes, impassable conditions in Lawrence.
A related issue is the gridlock that occurs in some neighborhoods when school gets out. Yesterday afternoon, as students left Our Lady of Good Counsel School on Lowell Street, cars were parked against snowbanks, forcing children to walk single file between a school van and other vehicles in the middle of the road.
"It's been difficult maneuvering. Sometimes, immediately after a storm, we have had to park the trucks and walk up a street," said acting fire Chief Jack Bergeron.
Leaders are calling on everything from common sense, increased ticketing and steeper fines to tougher winter parking restrictions to keep the streets open.
"We have to address the issue. It's a real problem," said City Council President Frank Moran, who recently met with Mayor William Lantigua about winter parking complaints all over the city. These tie-ups back up police cars, firetrucks and ambulances in instances where seconds are precious, he said.
"You can't put a price on a human life," said Moran, who lives on Dartmouth Street in the city's Tower Hill neighborhood. When drivers park on both sides of the street there, Moran said he has "trouble getting out of his driveway."
From Dec. 15 to April 15, the city's parking ordinance requires drivers to follow an odd/even parking rule from 12 a.m. to 6 a.m. on streets where alternate parking is allowed.
Heinze, who has witnessed his share of parking problems and traffic jams outside his front door, said he believes the odd/even ordinance should be in effect 24 hours per day. This doesn't require a formal vote, either. He suggests "we could show a little common sense and follow this logic and park on only one side."
Lantigua agreed "common sense by far is what's going to help right now."
He said the odd/even ordinance needs to be strengthened, but questioned whether a 24-hour restriction is too severe. An 18 to 20 hour per day alternate parking ban might work better, he said.
There needs to be a balance between the parking needs of residents living in neighborhoods and crews trying to clear snow from city streets, he said.
Moran called on police to target violators and step up ticketing. Last weekend, police issued $15 fines to 31 drivers who were illegally parked on Bowdoin Street.
The $15 fine "is part of the problem," said police Chief John Romero. "People roll the dice."
In some communities, the fine for violating snow emergency parking restrictions is $35 to $50, he said.
"Perhaps if the fine was higher it would be a deterrent," Romero said.
Heinze sent an e-mail to Lantigua asking him to help remedy the parking situation on his street. He received a reply from Patrick Blanchette, the city's economic development director, who wrote, "We are looking at this," Heinze said.
