BANGOR, Maine — The Bangor Public Works Department is preparing for what will likely be the biggest storm Maine has seen this winter. Like many cities across the state, residents should be aware of parking bans or risk tickets or towing fees.
“If they get off the street, it allows us to go through and do our clean-up and make the roads much more passable for residents," Bangor Public Works Director Aaron Huotari said.
Bangor's downtown parking ban is in effect from 11 p.m. Monday to 6 a.m. Tuesday. Parking is prohibited on ALL city streets from midnight to 6 a.m. Tuesday.
“Either way, you really should have your vehicle off the street before you go to bed tonight," Huotari added.
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It's all hands on deck for Bangor. Huotari said smaller storms earlier this season have helped prepare his crew.
“We actually have some new drivers, new plow folks on hand, and it’s been kind of nice because we’ve had some smaller storms to allow them to get out, get a little experience, see where the curbs are, see what their routes look like with a smaller amount of snow," Huotari said. "This one looks like a 24-hour event, looks like there’s going to be much more snow coming down overnight, looks like it’s going to be quite heavy."
Salt crews, plow crews, sidewalk crews, and downtown crews dedicated to Bangor's downtown parking district will all respond to what the weather throws at them.
“Being an all-day storm, there’s no guarantee that everything will be perfect, but I like the timing of this storm to allow us to get ahead of it before people are out on the streets,” Huotari said.