'Snow Emergency' Declared In Evanston, Parking Bans Take Effect

EVANSTON, IL — Public works crews have been working for nearly 24 hours so far to keep roads clear, and residents appear to be heeding the advice of authorities to avoid the roads and reduce accidents. Closures of most area schools Friday – including the late decision to shutter ETHS – also helped reduce the number of vehicles on the road as well. Evanston police said they were not aware of any major accidents as a result of the snow.

Snow parking restrictions are taking effect in Evanston, so make to double check so you don't wind up ticketed or towed. The city, which reported 6 inches of snow had fallen before noon Friday, declared a snow route parking ban from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. Saturday., as well as a snow emergency for side streets on Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Such emergencies can be declared after 4 inches of snow. It means parking on non-snow routes with that have parking on both sides of the street will be banned. Streets with parking on just one side should have signs indicating whether they get plowed on odd or even dates.

City officials asked the public not to be concerned if you hear emergency sirens go off to mark the start of the parking ban. The sirens will go off at 8:15 p.m. Friday, 7:15 a.m. Saturday and 12:15 p.m. Sunday to signal the start of parking restrictions due to the snow emergency.

Parking lots belonging to the city, local public school districts and Northwestern University are open during specific times until Monday. (More details below.)

Looking ahead to the weekend, there's a chance of light snow Saturday from midnight to 9 a.m., with a 40 percent chance of flurries to follow from 9 a.m. to noon. Only about 2 inches is expected to fall for the day, according to Edgar Cano, the city's public services bureau manager.

Sunday, there's a 60 percent chance of light snow from 1 to 10 a.m., which will be followed by a 30 percent chance of flurries until noon.

Wind chills are projected to fall as low as -10 degrees Sunday night into Monday morning, according to the National Weather Service. Localized ice jam flooding will be possible on area rivers, but weather is expected to be quieter next week.

More parking details from the City of Evanston:

The City has opened all three downtown parking garages for free parking through Sun., Feb. 11 at 11:59 p.m. Garages are located at:

• Sherman Plaza, 821 Davis St.
• Maple Avenue, 1800 Maple Ave.
• Church Street, 525 Church St.

ETHS Evanston Township High School is allowing residents to park in its parking lots from 6 a.m. on Saturday until 6 p.m. on Sunday.

District 65 Evanston/Skokie School District 65 is allowing residents to park in all of its parking lots on Sunday. However, cars must be removed by 6 p.m. In addition, the following school district lots are also available starting at 8 a.m. on Saturday: Dawes, Kingsley, Lincoln, Lincolnwood and Oakton.

Northwestern In partnership with the City of Evanston, Northwestern University will open its North and South Parking Garages during the snow emergency to provide additional free parking for the Evanston community. The North and South Parking Garages will be open to the public from Fri., Feb. 9 at 6 p.m., through Mon., Feb. 12 at 6 a.m.

During that time, anyone can park inside these Northwestern garages for free, and all parking access gate arms will be raised throughout the snow emergency. Those who choose to use the garages are asked to follow all designated parking signage within the facilities.

All vehicles without a Northwestern permit should vacate the North and South Parking Garages before 6 a.m. on Mon., Feb. 12, to ensure the garages are available for normal daily use.

As a reminder, daily parking in the North and South Parking Garages for those without a current permit is available for $8. Daily parking can be paid for at pay stations located in each elevator lobby. For more information on the North and South Parking Garages and other on-campus parking details, please visit the Northwestern Transportation and Parking website at northwestern.edu/transportation-parking/index.html.

Northwestern Parking Garage locations:

1. North Garage, 2311 North Campus Dr.: from Sheridan Road and Lincoln Street, turn east towards Lake Michigan
2. South Garage, 1841 Sheridan Rd.: from Sheridan Road, turn onto South Campus Drive from the point where north-southbound Sheridan Road turns west, on the south end of campus