NEWTON, Mass. — For nearly 90 years, Newton has enforced a winter parking ban that requires people not to park on the street overnight from December 1st until March 31st.
If people are caught, they could be fined $25. The cars are not allowed to be in the streets for more than an hour from 2am until 6 am during the four-month restriction.
On Tuesday, voters will decide whether to keep or repeal the ban. A ‘yes’ vote will go towards removing it, while a ‘no’ is in favor of keeping it.
Those who want to vote ‘no’ and keep the ban say it’s about keeping the streets safe during the winter. The restriction gives plows room to clear the roads.
City Councilor Randy Block made his case supporting the ban staying in place.
“Voters are being asked to repeal the overnight parking ban. In addition to making it easier to clear streets of snow, this parking ban serves a second critical purpose. It ensures that developers create off-street parking for their tenants. Without this overnight parking ban, we can expect developers to build ever larger housing units without any off-street parking. Consequently, the streets will get more congested and difficult to navigate. A very small number of people currently do not have off-street parking. We can help them with a special permit for overnight parking without lifting the ban for the entire city.”
We spoke to Erica Fine who lives in Newton. She said she’s had people get a ticket while they’re staying over their house.
We’d like to be able to host our overnight guests during the winter months especially when there’s not a snowstorm," Fine said.
City Councilor Rick Lipof says he supports voting ‘yes’ to repeal the ban.
“That ban should be for the times we have snow, not four solid months where now we don’t have as heavy winters,” Lipof said. “To get a ticket when its a bone-dry street in February seems a little silly to me.”
Lipof says about 40% of Newton residents work from home now. He wants the city-wide ban to be removed so they can focus on the areas with more parking difficulties like Nonantum.
“We can get rid of the ban and then look at the areas that may need to keep,” Lipof said. “This is an antiquated 1936 law. We have technology now to remind our citizens to take their cars off the streets.”
Voters will have the final say on Tuesday.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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