BREAKING: Parking Ban In Belmont Tuesday; Trash Pickup Delayed One Day

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Photo: If your vehicle is on the street Tuesday, it’s getting towed.

Belmont has issued a snow emergency for Tuesday, Dec. 3 due to a storm impacting the town beginning

The Belmont Police has issued a town-wide parking ban effective at midnight, Tuesday, Dec. 3 and will run until further notice. The ban includes all roadways and municipal and Belmont Public School parking lots.

Any vehicle parked in violation of the ban will be towed at the owner’s expense.

The Department of Public Work has announced that trash, recycling, and yard waste pickup have been delayed one day due to the inclement weather

Be Prepared as Wintery Blast Coming to Belmont on Monday

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Photo: Belmont, after the snow.

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for Belmont and Eastern Massachusetts that will be in effect all day Monday, Feb. 8 and ending during the morning commute Tuesday. 

The service is predicting between six to ten inches of snow to fall in the region, becoming most intense between 8 a.m. and into the early afternoon accompanied by high winds blowing steady between 15-25 mph with gusts hitting 40 mph.

Traveling will be slow at best on well-treated roads and challenging on unplowed or untreated surfaces.

Here are a couple of phone numbers you should have on hand:

Belmont’s SNOW EMERGENCY HOTLINE: 617-993-2698.

Belmont Light’s Outage Line: 617-993-2800.

Here is winter storm information from the Department of Public Works that you can print out or download to your computer or phone: Winter Weather Brochure

Snow Removal Bylaw:

 

The Cost of Too Much: Special Town Meeting To Pay $1.35 Million Snow Removal Bill

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Photo: The bill for snow removal is double the allocated amount.

It costs a lot to push aside nine feet of snow.

And the town is setting aside time at next month’s annual Town Meeting to pay the bill for removing the record snow that fell on Belmont’s thoroughfares this season.

The Special Town Meeting article – a meeting within the assembly – will take up the $1,348,000 expense incurred by the town this winter, more than double the $600,000 allocated for snow and ice removal in the fiscal 2015 budget.

“Typically, we expect 45 to 60 inches of snow, not 108 inches,” David Kale, Belmont’s Town Administrator, told the Belmont Board of Selectmen during its meeting, Tuesday, April 21. 

The $748,000 needed to bridge the funding gap exceeds the entire $400,000 general reserve account held by the Warrant Committee to resolve shortages for all of the town’s departments and the schools.

This comes at a time when the school budget is running a $500,000 shortfall in its current budget due to a spike in special education costs and higher enrollment.

The town will resolve both funding deficits with a combination of reserve accounts, the town’s free cash account and stabilization funds, according to Kale.

The snow and ice overage will be paid by using free cash and a portion of the Warrant Committee reserve fund, while the school budget shortage will be taking from the SPED fund with the balance transferred from the Warrant Committee’s fund. 

Snow Ends Noon Sunday, Now the Cold and Dangerous Wind Chill

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After more than a foot of snow has in Belmont in the past 18 hours, the fourth storm in the past three weeks is expected to end at noon, Sunday, Feb. 15 with a peek of sunshine expected this afternoon.

Nearby Lexington picked up 16.6 inches of snow while Winchester saw 13 inches fall, according to the National Weather Service.

But the departing storm will open the door for some of the coldest temperatures in recent history as well as wind chills reaching -30 to -45 below Sunday night that will make it dangerous to be outside for any period of time.

The National Weather Service has issued a wind chill warning, which is issued when the wind chill index is likely to fall to -25 degrees or colder for at least 3 hours. A wind chill index below -30 can bring about frostbite in as little as 10 minutes. 

Residents can expect lows below zero tonight, Sunday and Monday, Feb. 16, with northwest winds blowing steadily at 25 to 35 mph with gusts up to 65 mph.

The NWS advises that outdoor exposure should be limited. If you are heading outdoors, dress in layers and keep your hands and head covered to protect against frostbite.

Belmont’s Partial Parking Ban Is An Odd Situation

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Due to the higher than predicated snowfall from Monday’s Groundhog Day snowstorm, Belmont has modified its snow emergency parking ban as Department of Public Works crews and private contractors play catch-up on clearing the more than foot of new snow that blanketed town streets and roads.

According to Belmont Police and town officials, vehicles will be allowed to park on the odd-numbered side of the street beginning at 7 a.m., Tuesday, Feb. 3. and will remain in effect until revoked by the Town Administrator David Kale. This rule is for most secondary and side streets in Belmont.

During the new rules, town and private crews will begin removing and move snow on major roads, intersections and around schools that has been piling up since last week’s blizzard. 

“If cars park on both sides of the street, then the street may become too narrow for a fire truck or ambulance to get by on the way to an emergency call,” said a notice on the town’s web site. 

There are exceptions to this rule:

• A small number of streets have posted signs NOT allowing parking on the odd-numbered side at any time. On those streets, parking will still be allowed on the even side of the street.

• On roadways with “No Parking” signs, parking will NOT be allowed on the odd-numbered side.

• The following public and private streets and roads are exempt from this emergency parking rule and remain subject to normal parking rules:

  • Belmont Street (entire street)
  • Bright Road (entire street)
  • Brighton Street (Cambridge line to Flanders Road)
  • Concord Avenue (Cambridge line to railroad bridge)
  • Channing Road (Leonard Street to Claflin Street)
  • Claflin Street (Channing Road to parking lot)
  • Claflin Street (Alexander Avenue to barrier)
  • Common Street (Belmont Street to Payson Road)
  • Cross Street (Broad Street to Waterhouse Road)
  • Grove Street (entire street)
  • Leonard Street (entire street)
  • Lexington Street (Church Street to Trapelo Road)
  • Moore Street (entire street)
  • Park Avenue (Knox Street to Frontage Road)
  • Pleasant Street (Concord Avenue to Leonard Street)
  • Trapelo Road (entire street)
  • White Street (Sycamore Street to Trapelo Road)

In addition, the town wants residents to be aware that drivers must park their vehicles so that the tires are no more than 12 inches from the curb or the edge of the road, even when snow piles make it impossible to get your car that close to the curb. Police officers apply some discretion with this rule during the winter and don’t usually ticket people for this violation during the winter, but during parking bans, the rule will be enforced. 

 

No School Tuesday Due to Snow, Partial Lifting of Parking Ban at 7AM

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The larger-than-expected snow fall from the Groundhog Day storm has forced the Belmont Public Schools to be closed once again tomorrow, Tuesday, Feb. 3. This marks the fourth snow day to be called in the past week.

According to the Belmont Police Department, the snow emergency parking ban will be partially lifted at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 4. Belmont Police reported that parking will be allowed on the ODD side of most street in town. Exceptions will include business centers such as Waverley and Cushing squares and Belmont Center.

Town Offices will be open and trash and recycling will be picked up on Tuesday as scheduled.

The Belmont Public Library and the Beech Street Center will be closed.

Not Again: Belmont Under Third Winter Storm Warning in 10 Days

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In the English children’s song, “I’ll Tell Me Ma,” the lyrics declare “Let the wind and the rain and the hail blow high/Snow come shovelin’ from the sky.”

And for the third time in 10 days, Belmont will witness another blast of shove-able snow as the National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for the area, beginning at 9 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 1, until 1 a.m., Tuesday, Feb. 3.

The warning, issued at 1 p.m. today, Sunday, Feb. 1, is calling for between 8 inches to a foot of heavy snow falling in Belmont and points north of the Mass Pike. Accompanying the snow will be moderate winds of between 5 to 15 mph with gusts up to 35 mph.

The possible foot of snow comes just days after the town and region dug itself out of more than 20 inches of snow that fell during a blizzard that occurred this past Tuesday, Jan. 27.

Snow will fall heavy at times Monday morning, Feb. 2, at 1 to 2 inches per hour, impacting the morning rush hour making for hazardous travel on snow covered roads.

Nor’easter on Thanksgiving Eve. That’s All You Need to Know

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To hear and read the forecasts being bandied about for tomorrow, Thanksgiving Eve, one would believe the Boston region is teetering on the edge of the apocalypse due to the anticipation of the dreaded Nor’easter.

“Nor’easter Likely To Bring Thanksgiving Travel Chaos to Northeast” shouts the headline from a national broadcasting corporation.

“Expectations for an approaching nor’easter have shifted, threatening up to 4 inches of snow accumulation as far east as Boston” warned a big Boston daily newspaper.

“Thanksgiving storm: Hour-by-hour snowfall!” announced a local television station.

Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch’intrate!

With so much information being dispensed on this weather “event” – check out your twitter account to see how all encompassing the storm has become – it appears that, yes, it will be stormy Wednesday afternoon.

The National Weather Service, as of 3:14 p.m., today, Tuesday, Nov. 25, issued a winter weather advisory from 7 a.m. Wednesday until 7 a.m. Thanksgiving as snow is coming into the area.

But an advisory is issued when the accumulation is expected to be “light.” And the latest information is that Belmont can expect to receive between three to six inches with a trace of ice.

Rain will start around daybreak and change over to a wintry mix of snow and sleet by mid-day and into the afternoon before changing to snow in the evening. It will be heavy at times and windy – from the north averaging 15 to 20 mph with gusts up to 40 mph –before tapering off on Thanksgiving morning, just in time for the annual Belmont-Watertown football match at 10 a.m., this year at Harris Field.

So be careful when driving on untreated roadways or on suspended roads – like bridges and overpasses – and sidewalks.

If the lights go out, call Belmont Light at 617-993-2800. 

So here is your take away for tomorrow’s nor’easter:

  • It will be snowy tomorrow especially in the evening and at night.
  • It will take much longer to travel on Wednesday so you’ll be on the smartphone to hear the latest from your family member/friend as they are stuck in an airport or on the Mass Pike.
  • You’ll need something essential for the Thanksgiving meal and will be driving through the storm anyway.
  • Where are the snow shovels?

Snow, Yes Snow, in the Forecast for Friday’s Commute in Belmont

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Ugh.

The National Weather Service office in Taunton issued a hazardous weather outlook at 4:27 p.m. this afternoon, Thursday, Nov. 13 for eastern Massachusetts including Belmont forecasting a “moderate probability of an inch or two of snow” beginning after midnight, Friday, Nov. 14.

The resulting snow “may cause slippery travel during the Friday morning commute,” read the outlook.

The only good news: the temperature will stay above freezing overnight and into Friday until 10 p.m. Friday night.