When it's snowing outside and it's slushy, the last thing you want to do is go out there and move your car off the street, but you should.
If you don't, you're making it difficult for those who plow your street. In Pataskala, crews have been out all day clearing roads.
"Since 3 a.m., right when our guys went out," Mayor Michael Compton said.
When Compton isn't sitting behind the mayor's desk, his personal business is helping to remove the snow from the roadways.
He doesn't clean city streets, but personal streets. And, like clockwork, he says he sees it.
"Yeah, it's an every year fiasco," he said.
At least 50 subdivision streets have parking restrictions specifically for snow removal telling drivers not to park on the streets. Compton says the word goes out in quarterly newsletters to help remind people.
"Park your car in your neighbor's driveway that night if you can," he said. "Do anything you can to try to get them off the streets so the guys can go through and clean it out."
Pataskala Public Service Director Alan Haines says the parking restrictions are on the newer subdivisions and that they were not required for older subdivisions. But, after complaints from the fire department last year, he says the city is now working with HOAs and police to help better control the parking in those areas.
Wednesday, pictures were posted to a Pataskala Facebook page from a man saying he noticed damage to his truck after the plow came through. Haines says it was investigated and the man was legally parked, however, the damage wasn't caused by the plow, but by the snow.
"You're trying to push that snow at a certain speed to get it off the road and it's so full of water," Compton said. "Today probably was the worst I've ever seen and I've been snow plowing for 30 years."
The city says it noticed about 50 mailboxes knocked down Wednesday and received about 10 calls. If it's determined a plow hit your mailbox, you could file a property damage claim and possibly be reimbursed up to $60. But, if the damage is due to the snow being pushed by the plow, the city will not cover it. Haines says that's why it's best to stay on the driveway.
"It not only prevents property damage, it also makes our job a lot easier to get the snow cleared from the road," he said.