Boston Parking Ban Lifted, Schools Open Wednesday, Parade Still On
Boston’s parking ban has ended and kids are due back in school Wednesday. Earlier on Tuesday, Mayor Marty Walsh announced the city’s parking ban would stay in effect until 6 p.m. today. He also confirmed that Boston Public Schools will be open tomorrow, and that the Patriots’s victory parade will take place as planned. Or rather, it would take place at the time to which it was postponed when the original plans to hold it on Tuesday were canceled.
Walsh also addressed concerns about the progress of the city’s snow removal efforts, saying that it would “be a while before people see what they want to see in the community.’’
“We’re an old city,’’ Walsh said. “It’s very difficult to remove snow from an old city.’’
The mayor called the city’s snow clearing “a monumental task.’’ He noted that the city had removed 6,000 truckloads of snow from the city since the blizzard, and said that if it didn’t look like much of a dent has been made in the piles of snow, it’s because of the sheer volume of accumulated snowfall in the last week.
“We’re asking people to be patient,’’ said Walsh, adding later: “This snow is going to be here for a while. It’s not going to be gone by tomorrow, or by the weekend.’’
Walsh attributed many resident complaints about uncleared streets to the issue of people throwing snow back into the street when shoveling out their cars and sidewalks. He asked residents to take photos of neighbors who throw snow into the street and send them to officials via the city’s Citizens Connect app, after which inspectors would be sent out to ticket them.
“It’s that serious,’’ Walsh said.
Walsh reminded residents to look out for elderly neighbors, and to find and shovel out fire hydrants on their streets. The mayor also gave the customary warnings about shoveling out dryer vents and vehicle tailpipes, saying that there had been two evacuations due to carbon monoxide poisoning in the city Monday night.
Walsh was less dismissive of the parking space saver debate this morning than he was last week, saying, “As of right now, if somebody puts a space saver in the space [they have shoveled out], that’s fine.’’
Despite public transit issues and the fact that snow removal efforts are still taking place, Walsh was confident that the city could host the Patriots parade tomorrow.
“We can have a parade in the city of Boston,’’ Walsh said. “If I felt that it was going to be a public safety issue, I would cancel it.’’
The mayor said that streets will be clear for the event, but he added that the city is asking people to be careful, dress appropriately, and not stand on snow banks as the duck boats roll by.
When Walsh was asked why the city did not schedule the parade for Saturday—when streets would presumably be clearer, and students would be able to attend without missing school—the mayor responded that many of the players and their families would be on vacation by then.
“The simple answer is, we won’t have a team here to have a parade on Saturday,’’ he said.
When asked whether or not he would be riding along in a duck boat tomorrow, the mayor said no, citing his busy schedule.
As for those young people who may have wanted to attend the Patriots’s victory parade, Walsh said “their priority is to go to school tomorrow.’’
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