Watertown residents will get a brief reprieve from the winter parking ban, the Watertown Police announced.
Watertown Police Chief Michael Lawn sent out the following announcement:
Watertown –
With the Holidays fast approaching, the Watertown Police Department recognizes the need for additional overnight parking to accommodate visiting family members and friends.
Chief of Police Michael P. Lawn wishes to announce that effective December 22, 2019 officers will temporarily stop enforcing the All Night Parking Ban – barring any snowfall that would require plowing or sanding. Should there be a snow event please refer to the town website for available off street parking locations.
Chief Lawn still encourages all homeowners to use available off street parking during the overnight hours. Enforcement of the All Night Parking ban will resume on January 2, 2020.
Have a safe and happy holiday season.
Thank you,
Michael P. Lawn
Chief of Police
That is fabulous to hear. Thanks so much for lifting the parking ban during the holiday season.
Best wishes for a warm, safe and happy holiday season
Sharon Cook
Watertown
Yes great, now we can have people park their cars back on the streets instead of up on the sidewalks. Watertown does not have enough off street parking for the all cars in town. Most homes were built long before every person in household drove a car. Two family rentals all over town have at least four cars and no place to put them. Out of town landlords don’t care, they rake in the high rents. Our streets are cluttered with cars and it gets worse every year. The quality of life in Watertown now SUCKS!!
And the real life practical solution is what? Having given it so much thought I look forward to your thoughts on making things better. Warmest regards this holiday season.
The town has also made it very difficult to make our driveways larger because of new zoning laws especially for single family homes. I will continue to park on the sidewalk because there is no enforcement.
Absolutely agree with DM that quality of life in Watertown now SUCKS and is only going to get worse.
High taxes, subpar public schools, awful traffic congestion, overdeveloped and too dense, and overall not a town that seems to take pride in itself. The general feeling in town is not a happy one and many just seem downright miserable.
The parking ban is one of the issues that should be re-evaluated. The streets are now littered with cars and many from overcrowded absentee properties, illegal apartments, and/or overdevelopment. By enforcing a ban, and I firmly believe a year round ban is needed at this point, the town would be taking a step in the right direction of exercising better control over these properties.
As I type this I have two cars that have been parked in front of my home for several days now and my guess is they will remain there for several more days. They are renters from a property two doors down that houses way too many people.
Unfortunately unless the town really makes some changes then it will only get worse. And yes, I hope to be moving out within the next couple of years.
Watertown has a year round parking ban. Its illegal to park your car on the street between 1:00 am and 6:00 am. There is also a 2 hour parking limit on any public way 24/7. Look it up. It’s on the books. Its the law and it’s not enforced.