ITEM PHOTO BY BOB ROCHE
John Bray, with snow up to the top of his 18-inch boots, clears his driveway on Quinn Road as a plow adds to his work.
By GAYLA CAWLEY
Parking during Thursday’s major snowstorm was a headache for some Lynn residents.
David Garcia, 36, parked at Connery Elementary School, on Wednesday night after the city’s parking ban was announced. He went to take his car out the next afternoon to drive to Stop & Shop in Jamaica Plain, where he works for U.S. Security Associates, but found that it was blocked in. A row of cars, had parked in front of cars in spaces, seemingly after drivers were unable to find any parking in the lot.
Garcia was left confused with what he could do to get to work. When he spoke with The Item, he was already supposed to be at his job. He said he parked his car in a way that it would be easy to get it out, and never had an issue with being blocked in a lot during a snowstorm before.
“When they remove the emergency, everybody has to take the car out,” Garcia said. “If they say tonight at 9 o’clock, so I’m working at that time. So, maybe they tow my car.”
Garcia was one of many residents taking advantage of parking in the city’s schoolyards during the snowstorm.
The School Committee voted last month to keep the city’s school parking lots open for emergency snow parking for the remainder of the year. The issue was raised in early January when parking during snow emergencies was limited to the city’s middle and high schools. In the past, parking has been allowed at some, but not all, elementary schools.
During a snowstorm in early January, city councilors and members of the school committee heard from dozens of residents who were left without a place to park. At the time, a few councilors made the decision to open the chains blocking off the lots.
Fnu Atal, 30, was parked in Ingalls Elementary School on Thursday afternoon, but not before he received a parking ticket for leaving his car on the street earlier that morning during the parking ban. The ban went into effect at midnight on Thursday. But he said he was working the night shift and was unaware there was one in place.
Atal said he got off from working as a security guard in Somerville at 7 a.m. and then had a doctor’s appointment shortly after. When he went home from the doctor, he got a ticket on his car.
“Every day I park on the street,” Atal said. “This never happened before.”
Atal said before the parking ticket, he already paid more than $200 for highway tickets, on top of his monthly expenses, on an hourly wage of $12. How can he support his family, he asked.
“I’m not happy,” Atal said about parking at the schools.
Check here for Friday parking news, closings and cancellations.
Gayla Cawley can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @GaylaCawley.