Boston Winter Parking: What to Know

BOSTON, MA — Parking in Boston is already, shall we say, "challenging" when the weather is good, but it can feel beyond impossible once you throw in a little snow and a host of winter parking rules.

We're here to help. The City of Boston has a whole host of very good and useful guidelines for weathering the winter on its site here. Patch has pulled out the parking-related info below.

A good idea to keep in mind, before you dive in, is to consider subscribing to the city's snow emergency alerts. That way you know when things are happening, and can move your car accordingly, avoiding the equally unpleasant scenarios of getting slapped with a giant parking ticket or having your precious Honda engulfed in a pile of plow-driven salt and snow.

Parking in Snowy Weather

• The city restricts certain street-parking to keep main roads clear for plows and emergency vehicles during extreme weather.
• They will ticket and tow your car if you park on a posted snow emergency artery during a declared snow emergency (see map below).
• You can begin parking at participating lots and garages two hours before a declared snow emergency. You need to remove your vehicle within two hours of the City lifting the emergency ban (if not, you have to pay normal rates). The city has a neighborhood-by-neighborhood list of discounted parking garages.

Space Savers

• Space savers such as trash cans and cones can be used to save street parking, but only when the city declares a snow emergency.
• Additionally, you must remove it 48 hours after the city ends the emergency.
• And if you live in the South End? Don't do it. All space-savers are banned in the South End, regardless of snow emergency status.

Winter Parking: Mapped

Photo courtesy of Eden, Janine and Jim via Flickr