Watertown’s Winter Parking Ban will last just two months in 2026, from Jan. 1 to March 1, after the City Council approved a temporary change in the overnight parking regulations. In addition, they approved a sharp increase in fines for cars left on the road during a snow emergency.
Tuesday night, City Manager George Proakis presented the changes, which were meant to be a stop-gap until the City can do a more wholesale change to the parking ban. In January, residents filled the Council Chamber for a hearing about eliminating the parking ban completely.
Proakis said the winter parking ban is the subject he gets the most questions about from residents. He plans to complete a study of parking and curb use that would be presented for consideration for future years.
City Council President Mark Sideris said the proposal was made to give some relief for 2026.
“In (January), the room was full, the stairs were full, downstairs was full. We heard from a lot of different people and we heard from a lot of people,” Sideris said. “It hasn’t changed. The same people are asking for the same thing. Some are asking for removal of the paring ban permanently some are asking to keep it in place. This is a temporary modification for a shorter period of time. until the manager does a professional and thorough analysis of what we need and make a recommendation to the City Council.”
Proakis said the study will look at use of the curbs all year long, not just during the winter months. While he did not discuss the long-term proposal, Proakis said that “no rules is not the right way to go.”
Winter Parking Ban
The current parking regulations prohibits parking overnight on the street, Proakis said, which means it is technically in place year round. The City has traditionally enforced the ban only during the winter, and recently that has been from the Sunday after Thanksgiving to the end of March. The ban has been lifted during the holidays to allow residents to have guests, and also in late March if the weather looks free of snow.
Sideris proposed the dates of the 2026 Winter Parking Ban to go from Jan. 1 to March 1. He thought about starting on Dec. 15, but realized that the holiday hiatus would start soon after and the schools are out for two full weeks this year. He added that if a snow storm hits before or after the dates of the Winter Parking Ban, a snow emergency could be called.
The second part of the effort was to increase parking fines during a snow emergency from $25 to $100. Proakis said he could not approve a change in the parking fines without a Traffic Commission for a recommendation. Earlier on Tuesday, the Commission approved fines of up to $100.
He said he does not believe the $25 fine was working, and people would just absorb the fine and leave the vehicle on the road.
Councilor Nicole Gardner noted that anyone with a permanent or temporary disability get a special exemption from the fines. She also asked if residents could park for longer periods in municipal and school lots on weekends. In some cases vehicles must be moved by 6 a.m.
Proakis called the fines and an effort to get people to sign up for alerts so they know when a snow emergency is in effect, a test of a new way of handling parking during the winter.
Councilor Tony Palomba said that while he would like to see a permanent removal of the parking ban, he likes the idea of doing a test.
Councilor John Airasian said he is concerned about a change in the rules, and how that would impact the ability of public safety vehicles, such as fire engines and ambulances, to navigate roads in the winter.
“I don’t think this is the time to do the test. The time is when we are done with the study and have recommendations,” Airasian said. “We are walking a fine line between reducing vehicles and adding more, caution Councilors with this decision.”
The Council voted 7-2 to pass the temporary change to the winter parking ban, with dates of Jan. 1 to March 1, 2026. Airasian and Lisa Feltner opposed the motion.
Fines
The Council unanimously approved the $100 fine for parking on the street during a snow emergency.
Gardner asked if the increased fines would extend beyond the 2026 Winter Parking Ban. Sideris said they could be given during a snow emergency, even if it is not during the dates of the Winter Parking Ban. Proakis said they are in place until they are removed.
Councilor John Gannon asked if the City has ensured that they can impose a $100 fine for that, noting that he saw Marblehead had requested a Home Rule petition to be approved by the State Legislature so it could do a $100 fine for overnight parking. Proakis said he had consulted with the City’s attorney, but would confirm that.
Proakis was asked if the City would be towing vehicles during a Snow Emergency. He said the City reserves the right to tow during a Snow Emergency, but added that it does not have the capacity to do “wholesale towing.” The instances when cars might be towed is if they are blocking plowing or public safety vehicles. This could be if they are parked near corners, or are on main roads that get plowed from curb to curb.
Councilors want to make sure that residents know about the changes to the dates and the fines. Proakis said the City would put information in the next property tax bills, and would put out word on the City’s website and on social media.
Gannon said he is worried that the landlords would not all tell tenants about the change. Sideris said he saw that the City can get word out in the recent election.
“The Manager and his staff did a really good job letting people know that polling places had changed,” Sideris said.
Proakis said the new fines go into effect when he signs the recommendation from the Traffic Commission. He plans to sign it after the City has had an opportunity to get word out to people to sign up for the City’s alert system run by Everbridge. Click here for more information.
The fees for parking overnight during the Winter Parking Ban during non-Snow Emergency times remains at $15, but Proakis wants to examine those, too. He asked the Council to allow him to ask the Traffic Com to examine fines for overnight parking during the Winter Parking Ban.
The Council unanimously approved the increase of fines during the Snow Emergency to $100, and to have the Manager ask the Traffic Commission to examine fines during the Winter Parking Ban.