Snow limits parking for off-campus residents

When many off-campus residents returned from winter break, they discovered that the Blizzard of '96 had given them one more back-to-school hurdle -- a parking nightmare. Unlike most major arteries in the city -- including Walnut and Market streets -- Spruce Street is not a designated snow emergency route. Therefore, snow from the blizzard still remains on Spruce Street, blocking parking spots and making transportation difficult for some -- and impossible for others. College senior Andrew Kramar parked his car on Spruce Street when he returned to campus but has not moved it since then for fear of losing his spot. But he added that "they have trouble plowing Spruce Street because there are cars parked there." College senior Jake Glaser said he rents a parking spot from University City Housing. "The day that I got back I shoveled my spot because University City Housing hadn't shoveled it," he added. "Since then, everyone in my house has used my car." Glaser, who rented his spot for the entire year, said most Spruce Street residents do not rent their own parking spaces. Therefore those who have found spots on Spruce refuse to use their cars. "[Students] don't want to lose their spots," Glaser said. "If you get a spot on Spruce, you're not going to give it up. "It would be nice if the city would do something, but they won't," Glaser said. "Pine is horrible -- it's a sheet of ice." University parking personnel said they have attempted to handle the situation with flexibility. Manager of Parking Services Anthony Bozzuto said his staff has allowed students without permits to park in University lots recently because of the terrible road conditions. "We had one student living off campus request to park in one of the lots and it was granted," Bozzuto said. Bozzuto said that many people without permits parked in the lot on 42nd and Spruce streets and those cars were not towed. "We didn't tow during the height of the snowstorm," he said. "People even parked in our driveways -- that was a little bit hairy." Space was limited in University parking lots immediately following the storm, Bozzuto said. Approximately 25 percent of the space in University lots was unusable after plows cleared the snow Bozzuto said. "With a plow you can only push the snow," he said. "It was like pushing into a wall." Bozzuto added that Philadelphia officials decided not to plow cross streets between the campus and 52nd Street, because those streets are not emergency routes. Residents are just going to have to wait for the snow to melt, he said. "I can certainly feel for students living off campus," Bozzuto said. Every lot had been plowed at least once approximately 48 hours after the snow began to fall, he said. "We really would have had a fiasco if school was in session," Bozzuto said.