You Ask... Portsmouth Patch Answers

When city Public Works Department officials lifted the snow emergency on Sunday following the Blizzard of 2013 and allowed people to park downtown again, it wasn't clear if they had to pay for parking or not.

The problem was that on Sunday and Monday, several parking machines were still buried in the snow as city Public Works crews continued to clear sidewalks and dig out the parking machines and fire hydrants. There were also no parking enforcement officers roaming the streets to issue any parking violations. But very few people knew for sure if it was okay to park downtown for free.

One of those people is Jenna who asked: I parked my car on Daniel Street on Monday morning and I didn't know if I had to pay for parking or not. I couldn't get to the parking machine and I didn't know what to do. I saw there were other people who also didn't pay for parking. Is there free parking downtown because of the blizzard?

Great question, Jenna. You are not the only one who has been asking it. After speaking with Tom Cocchiaro, the city's parking and transportation director, on Tuesday morning, Portsmouth Patch has the answer.

According to Cocchiaro, people were technically still required to pay for parking if they parked in an area where they could get to the parking machine. If they parked in an area where they could not access the parking machines, then Cocchiaro said those drivers would not be issued any parking violations.

“If you have a parking space and you can get to the meter then you are required to pay,” he said.

He also said there was no parking enforcement on Sunday or Monday because the conditions were too hazardous for the city's parking enforcement officers. So people were able to park for free downtown on those days even if they could access a parking machine, he said.

Cocchiaro said the free downtown parking is officially over today after parking enforcement officers resumed their regular duties on Tuesday morning.

If you have a question about Portsmouth that you like to get answered, send it to portsmouth-nh.patch.com or post a comment below and our team will dig up an answer. Be sure to check back each Tuesday morning for the next You Ask... Portsmouth Patch Answers column to get the answer.