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Not in Boston? Your space saver is likely illegal.
Drivers may be trying to save their hard-earned shoveled-out spaces after the blizzard, but most communities ban the practice.
Boston residents are getting creative with space savers after the week’s blizzard, using everything from a jubilant chef statue to a toilet to claim shoveled-out spots. But for drivers elsewhere in Massachusetts, putting down an orange cone could come with consequences.
Most cities and towns outside Boston have banned the practice, with some issuing fines up to $100 for anyone caught trying to save a parking space.
In a Facebook post, Haverhill Police said the city is not South Boston, and that it does not permit space savers after finding a bright yellow chair, an orange cone, and a plastic container in use.
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“Winter is a team sport, parking wars are not,” the post said.
The time-honored, at times controversial, tradition of space-saving in Boston is city-sanctioned – at least sometimes. Boston allows car owners to use a space saver only when the city declares a snow emergency, and only until 48 hours after that snow emergency ends.
Even with a snow emergency, space savers are always banned in Bay Village and the South End, where parking spaces are already at a premium on narrow streets.
Across the river, meanwhile, Cambridge and Somerville also bar the use of space savers.
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On Somerville’s parking page, it states, “We are all in it together when bad weather strikes, so please be considerate,” the parking rules said. “Shovel out your own space … and don’t take a spot shoveled out by someone else.”
Both Cambridge and Somerville say the cities will remove any space savers they find.
In Malden, another city north of Boston, the city reminded residents that it too does not permit space savers.
However, they left them for a week after the last major storm, saying, “We understand the hard work that goes along with shoveling out a space, particularly for a storm so significant.”
Medford has a ban, as does Brookline. Fall River and Lowell also have bans.
In New Bedford, not only is there a ban, but drivers could face a fine of up to $100.
In Quincy, it appears to be a free-for-all. A Reddit post that asks “Are we still honoring space savers?” garnered responses ranging from someone stealing someone else’s trash can to use as their space saver to others rooting for the tradition to end.
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