The following announcement was provided by the Town of Watertown:
Watertown Chief of Police Michael P. Lawn has announced the 2020-2021 Winter Parking Ban dates.
Effective Monday November 30, 2020 and continuing to April 1, 2021 the Winter Parking Ban will be in effect and strictly enforced. The regulation reads in part; “No vehicle may remain on any public way for more than one hour between the hours of 1 AM and 6 AM all days of the week.”
For residents who lack sufficient off-street parking, the Town allows for temporary parking at any municipal parking lot and other locations noted:
- The police station at 552 Main Street (visitor’s parking lot only)
- Any public school parking lot except the Cunniff School
- Marion Road parking lot at Victory Field
- O’Connell Park, (lot at the corner of Boylston Street and Mt Auburn Street)
- Grove Street parking lot at Filippello Park (No parking in the spaces along the driveway)
- 101 Morse Street – 14 spaces at the rear of the parking lot (currently being constructed, available once completed)
Please note that these locations may be used free of charge, however vehicles may only use available spaces after 7 PM and must be removed by 7 AM the following day. Vehicles must be removed from school property no later than 6 AM. Violators may be towed.
Please remember that parking your vehicle upon any sidewalk is prohibited. Your cooperation in keeping the streets clear of overnight parking and your sidewalks clear of snow and ice will make for safer driving and walking conditions and at the same time, allow the opportunity for the Public Works Department to perform necessary street cleaning and maintenance.
Thank you,
Michael P. Lawn
Chief of Police
So is this ban starting 1am Monday November 30th or Tuesday December first at 1am?
Sunday night November 29th will be the last night that you can park on the street
I would like to respectfully ask our police to enforce this parking ban this year. For many years now cars in my neighborhood do not get ticketed when left during the ban. This creates a lot of confusion. When a storm does happen these same cars are still on the street and sometimes they get ticketed during the storm but often they don’t. What is left is a road that is not well plowed with patches of snow and ice left in the road because of plows going around the cars.
With the announcement today about an advisory curfew from Gov. Baker, this should help us to enforce the parking ban and maybe even start the ban at 11:00 PM each night. I do understand that some properties do not have enough parking but more often than not the cars left overnight on the streets are left there because of an overcrowding situation and that is part of the spread of covid. Perhaps the parking ban is a way to prevent house parties and large gatherings. I would also like to see our Zoning Office enforcing some of our Zoning laws such as how many people, unrelated, can live in a property and I would like to see Zoning cracking down on all the illegal apartments in town that both add to our population but not our tax base.
To have the ban start at 11pm is just ridiculous. Stores close a couple of hours before that, like around 9-10pm, on average-the Target in town usually stays open even later! And if you have a lot to carry in, it makes sense to park in front of your home and carry it in and do what you have to do without rushing. Why no rush? Because falling up or down stairs while carrying large or heavy loads is dangerous. Rushing in the dark is risky. Rushing in winter in New England is very risky as we frequently have patches of ice here and there that we otherwise navigate just fine but risk a serious injury if we’re being careless and rushing.
I checked with the WPD. The ban actually means no parking over 2 hours, unless it is a snow emergency. You can park temporarily to unload.
I see a lot of Karen’s in here complaining about other people just because you have a driveway to park your car doesn’t mean everybody else does
It seems like these people have friends who are cops thats why they don’t get tickets. Illegal parking in Watertown is all about who you know, plus the cops are too busy overnight to bother with writing parking tickets.
I don’t buy your ‘people with friends who are cops’ theory, but I do think enforcement should not be the police responsibility for nuisance complaints, but because it affects quality of life, a NON-police matter. For instance, compliance official to enforce things like parking, noise, odor, illegal disposal in stormwater drains, dumping, cars parked on the sidewalk blocking pedestrian access, handicapped parking, mask wearing during pandemic, etc. Nuisance matters like all of these add up and erode a sense of civic responsibility.
Good to know, I am going to leave my 82 rusted out Ford with the leaky transmission and dripping oil valve covers parked in front of your house across your driveway for a few days while I am away. It’s OK, you can park all of your cars over at the school until I get back and get around to moving it. If you have a problem with that then you can take it up with a City Compliance Officer , (CCO) who should will be in a week from next Monday and maybe could help you.
Not everyone has driveway access or the ability to afford 200$ a month just to park. It’s a ridiculous ban; the majority of neighboring towns don’t have one, and it only serves to gauge working people even further. Diversity is important to a healthy community. Most people complaining about non-enforcement have driveway access and just plain don’t care about the renting population in this city.