Cars towed and ticketed on snow routes

In order for city crews to make Columbia roads passable more than one hundred cars were ticketed and more than two dozen towed.

The reason for this is the new city ordinance requiring all cars to be moved off of priority snow routes when there is more than two inches of snow.

Before the snow this week week warnings and citations were given out.

However, that changed Wednesday when 26 cars were towed and 104 given citations.

“I saw last year when they started putting up the signs and didn’t really think about it until last night when I couldn’t make it up my driveway, so I had to park on another street,” said William St. resident Mitchell Richardson.

Richardson was lucky because the sign is in his front yard. Though he tells me the people on his street are mostly college students and many probably did not see the sign.

“I predict that most people don’t pay attention to the signs or are not around enough to know,” said Emily Welin, also a William St. resident.

ABC 17 News talked to towing companies in Columbia and they tell us the majority of the tows off priority routes were college students.

Each tow cost the owner of the car at least $100.

The citations are $15.

Over the last two days Columbia Public Works officials told ABC 17 News they gave out 104 citations.

“When customers move their cars off priority routes it really speeds up the process to get plows through,” said Teresa White with Columbia Public Works.

Since this is a new ordinance White told ABC 17 News they tried to warn people during the first few snow falls this year with the citations.

“We are still working on educating customers,” said White.

That is the reason why towing had not been done until now. However, with the 6 inches of snow this past week, it was necessary.