Closing Manchester’s Post-Snow Emergency 6:00am Parking Loophole

After every significant snowstorm in Manchester, the same problem emerges once the plows leave and daily life resumes. Streets that should be fully cleared remain narrowed. Snow and ice linger along the curb line. Drainage is blocked, and travel lanes stay tight long after the storm itself has passed.

This is not because the city fails to declare snow emergencies or because residents are unaware of the rules. During a declared snow emergency, all vehicles must be removed from city streets so plows can do their work. Manchester does this well, and most residents comply.

The problem arises when the snow emergency ends at 6:00 a.m.

At that moment, vehicles that were never moved during the emergency can immediately become legally parked again under existing rules, even if plows were forced to go around them. Those vehicles often remain encased in snow, creating what many residents recognize as “islands of ice” that prevent curb-to-curb snow removal.

The consequences are easy to see. Streets remain narrower than intended, snowbanks harden along parking lanes, and ice persists where plows could not reach. These conditions affect emergency vehicle access, pedestrian safety, and the city’s ability to fully maintain its streets after storms.

How the issue came before the Board

This gap in enforcement was raised at the first meeting of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen’s new term in January by Ward 7 Alderman Ross Terrio. In response to questions from the Board, the Manchester Police Department explained that once a snow emergency ends, the city currently lacks a clear, condition-based authority to address vehicles that were plowed around and never complied with the emergency in the first place.

After seeing the aftermath of the most recent storm firsthand, I took time to look at how other cities handle this same situation.

What I found is that many municipalities have moved beyond purely clock-based snow emergency rules and instead focus on whether snow removal has actually been completed.

What other cities do differently

Cities like Wayzata, Minnesota and Aberdeen, South Dakota use what is often referred to as a completion standard. Under this approach, a street is not considered cleared until snow removal reaches the curb line. If a vehicle forces a plow to go around it, parking restrictions remain in place for that specific location until the work is finished.

The question is not what time it is, but whether the street has actually been cleared.

Other cities focus on snowbound vehicles. In Ogden, Utah, vehicles that remain plowed around after a storm are treated as abandoned after a defined period and removed. Closer to home, Medford, Massachusetts uses its existing parking rules and the visible condition of a snow-encased vehicle as evidence that it has not moved, allowing crews to remove that obstruction during post-storm widening operations.

The takeaway is straightforward. Once a vehicle is left in place after a storm and prevents snow removal from being completed, it is no longer just parked. It becomes an obstruction to public safety and snow removal operations.

A modest, targeted proposal

At the February 3, 2026 meeting of the Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen, I spoke during public comment to raise this issue and provided draft ordinance language for the Board’s consideration.

Later that same evening, during New Business, Ward 6 Alderman Crissy Kantor brought the proposal back before the Board. After discussion, the Board unanimously voted to refer the suggested ordinance update to the Public Safety Committee and Bills for Second Reading.

The proposal under consideration does not extend snow emergencies. Instead, it would give the city an additional, narrowly defined tool to address vehicles that remain snowbound and prevent curb-to-curb snow removal after a storm has ended.

If a resident shovels out and moves their vehicle, the issue is resolved. If not, the city would have clear authority to ticket or remove the vehicle so plows can finish the job residents expect.

This is a modest change, but one rooted in common sense and existing practice elsewhere. Effective snow removal does not end when the clock changes. It ends when the street is actually cleared.

I appreciate the Board’s willingness to engage with this issue and its decision to refer the matter for further consideration at the committee level. Thoughtful, incremental improvements like this are how city government can respond to real-world problems in a practical and responsible way.

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Proposed Amendment to Chapter 71

Snowbound Vehicles

§ 71.XX — Snowbound Vehicles

(A) Definition. A snowbound vehicle is any motor vehicle that:

1. Is located on a public street or public way; and

2. Has been plowed around or encased by snow removal operations such that snow removal to the curb line cannot be completed or the normal use of the public way is obstructed.

(B) Completion Standard. For purposes of snow removal and ice control operations, a street or any segment thereof shall not be considered cleared until snow has been removed to the curb line. The expiration of a declared snow emergency shall not authorize a snowbound vehicle to remain an obstruction to the completion of curb-line snow removal.

(C) Prohibited Conduct. No person shall allow a snowbound vehicle, as defined in subsection (A), to remain on a public street or public way once snow removal operations have occurred and the vehicle continues to prevent completion of snow removal or obstruct the public way.

(D) Enforcement Authority. A snowbound vehicle shall be deemed to:

1. Interfere with snow removal operations;

2. Constitute an obstruction of the public way; and

3. Constitute a public nuisance;

and may be enforced under the City’s existing abandoned vehicle, obstruction, or nuisance authority, including authority granted under RSA 262:32.

(E) Penalties and Remedies.

1. A snowbound vehicle may be ticketed using the same citation authority and penalty structure currently applied to snow emergency parking violations.

2. A snowbound vehicle may be towed and impounded using the same procedures, fees, and owner responsibilities currently applicable to vehicles towed during declared snow emergencies.

3. Enforcement under this section shall not require a declared snow emergency to be in effect.

(F) Compliance Opportunity. A vehicle shall no longer be considered snowbound once it is moved and access for snow removal to the curb line is restored.