Honestly. What is the point of a parking ban, if the plows are just going to swing through the middle of the street where it's already clear? Piles of old, frozen snow extend 3-5 feet into most streets, forcing people who want to park their cars to take up nearly a full lane of traffic. Apart from clogging up the street, this also makes it difficult for people to exit their cars once they do park: if they've parked close to the snowbanks they can barely open the driver's side door (and then immediately have to clamber over a big, slippery mound of snow to get to the sidewalks), while passengers wind up having to step out into a lane of traffic.

This kind of neglect of citizens' safety is exactly what we have all come to expect of the City of New Haven over the past few years, but this year, with the successful and speedy implementation of parking bans, you'd think there might be a difference. Car owners totally stepped up and followed the rules, and we're left once again with crappy, poorly plowed, dangerous, needlessly clogged streets.