On Oct.10, the city of Oswego’s Common Council approved an overnight parking ban from midnight to 6 a.m., December through May. There is an option for those without sufficient parking at their residence to buy a $75 dollar permit allowing them to park on the street.

The new parking ban was put in place after unsuccessful attempts to implement alternate street parking, considered a complete failure in recent winters.

Some residents are unhappy with this decision because many households posses more than one vehicle. Oswego State students who live off campus will also be impacted by this new law. If there is a house or an apartment complex that houses more than one student and each has their own car, which one, if needed, will pay for the permit? Should the landlord pay for the permit?

The larger issue is while some residents are unhappy about the new parking law, there are others who were unhappy with last winter’s attempt at the alternate street parking because this system interfered with the city’s attempts to properly clear the roads. The fact is, people are always going to complain about something. This is not Burger King, you cannot have it your way. The attempt for an alternate winter parking system which was implemented by previous Mayor Tom Gillen, was an attempt to try to fix something that was not broken.

Growing up here in Oswego, the law was no parking in the street overnight during the winter months. It was this way for as long as I can remember, even before I was old enough to drive. The overnight ban was the rule and city residents made due. For many years, my parents had more than one vehicle and I remember many nights they would go out and flip-flop vehicles based on who was leaving the house first the next day. That was just the way it was. People were unhappy about the parking rule, but they accepted it and went on with their lives.

There was an open forum at city hall to discuss the city’s winter parking policy last January after new Mayor Billy Barlow took office and reimplemented the off-street winter parking ban. Many of the statements made reflected that the parking ban is going to keep families from moving to Oswego or that it will drive families out because of older homes not having sufficient parking. Another statement made was that you cannot solve a modern problem with old solutions.

The open forum also brought up that the current administration is open to planning the city’s winter parking ban after the alternate street system that is used in Syracuse. What people need to understand is that winter happens in Oswego and the snow plow crews have to be able to clear the streets for city residents to safely drive on the roads. If they have to maneuver around cars on the street then they cannot properly do their jobs. The people here need to realize that the parking ban is put in place for safety, they are not doing it to inconvenience residents.