Newton Parking Rules: What Happens When Your Time Is Up

NEWTON MA —If you drive in Newton you probably know the pain that parking in Newton can sometimes be. For more than a year, Public Safety and Transportation Committee has been working to clarify Newton's overtime parking rules, in an effort that they could actually be enforced.

What does two hour parking only mean? Can you just come back and feed the meter after two hours? Or if you're parked where there is no meter, can you just pull your car up and put it in a slightly different space? Well, no more. Now if you park in a metered space you can only park there for the designated time. And then you're required to move along, or risk a ticket and $15 fine.

At the Feb. 4 City Council meeting councilors voted nearly unanimously on the updates that the city said struck a balance between the concerns of residents, commuters and employees, as well as the city’s enforcement and appeals staff.

The new ordinance is aimed at ending the practice of feeding the meter (with coins or the app) once that meter's original time has expired and instead require drivers to move their car to a different space on a different block.

When parked in a non-metered space where a sign that tells you how long you can park there, the car would need to be moved to "a location beyond the nearest intersection or to a location outside an off-street municipal parking lot."

Council Orders go into effect 20 days after they have been passed by the Council, unless there is some other time of taking effect included in the Ordinance text, which this particular ordinance does not have, according to City Clerk David Olson.

Check out the memos about it here. The city gives three examples of what the new rules could look like:

Example 1

Union Street/Herrick Road:

The area has about 73 heavily used two-hour meters. The new language will make it easier for visitors to extend their stay beyond two hours by simply moving to any other metered parking space after two hours, if available. Employees may do the same, which is not the intent but cannot be prevented. The language makes it clear that by remaining in the same space and “feeding the meter” (by coin or by coin + Passport app), the vehicle may receive a $15 overtime parking ticket.

Example 2

Parking on Chase St is not metered, but restricted to two hours between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m.:

Without a parking restriction, Chase Street would be filled with commuter or employee vehicles, thereby restricting access to residents and their visitors. The new ordinance discourages employees and others from moving their vehicle slightly every two hours by requiring them to relocate the vehicle to a different block (or a different street entirely). Employees and commuters who want to access long-term parking in Newton Centre should generally be directed to use the available long-term metered parking spaces in the Cypress, Pleasant, or Pelham Street lots, or to park in an available on street long-term parking space on Centre, Lyman, or Willow Street, and to avoid feeding short-term parking meters or moving their vehicle around on residential streets during the day.

Example 3

Parking in the Chapel Street Lot, Nonantum

The Chapel Street Lot is an unmetered, three-hour time-limited parking lot. The ordinance still allows visitors to park for up to three hours for free. After three hours, the ordinance specifically requires that the car must be moved out of the lot, to any other valid parking space. Those needing more time to complete their business in Nonantum may choose to park their vehicle on Watertown Street or on a nearby residential street. After two hours, the vehicle may return to the Chapel Street Lot. The goal of this ordinance language is to provide for turnover within this lot, to make parking opportunities more available to all nearby shops and businesses, and to clarify that vehicles may not park all day in this unmetered parking lot (and may not move the vehicle over one spot and stay remain in the free parking lot all day).

Example 4

Parking on Lowell Ave near NNHS, on Adeline Rd near NSHS, on Groveland St near Lasell College, or on Algonquin Road near BC.

Parking is restricted on Lowell Avenue near Newton North High School to two hours between 8a.m. and 4 p.m. on school days. Parking on Adeline Road near Newton South High School is restricted to two hours between 7a.m. and 4p.m. on school days. Parking on Groveland Street near Lasell College and on Algonquin Road near Boston College is restricted to two hours between 8a.m. and 6 p.m. The goal of these restrictions is to discourage automobile use among High School and College students as much as possible, and to encourage carpooling, bicycling, walking and bus usage. These restrictions are examples of a Traffic Council and City Council response to neighborhood requests to restrict student parking in these neighborhoods. The new ordinance language would discourage students from moving (or having their friends move) their vehicle slightly every two hours by requiring them to relocate the car to an entirely different block or street.

Example 5

Parking on Washington Street or on Longfellow Road near Newton Wellesley Hospital:
There are approximately 22 two-hour metered parking spaces on Washington Street near Newton-Wellesley Hospital. There's additional one-hour parking permitted between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. along Longfellow Road. The new ordinance language means anyone who parks on Longfellow must move to a different block after an hour. The metered spaces on Washington Street are intended for short hospital visits, with longer visits directed to use the Hospital’s on-site garage parking. Patients or visitors may extend their stay beyond two hours on Washington Street by moving their vehicle to any other metered space, if available.

RELATED:

• The Real Solution to the Newton Parking Ban
• What Are Newton's Overnight Parking Rules?

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