Overnight Parking Bans: Rules for 42 Towns

If the car is on the street tonight, the answer depends on which side of a town line you live on. Eighteen of the 42 towns below ban overnight street parking on a fixed schedule, snow or no snow. Eighteen more say nothing about overnight parking until the city declares a snow emergency. Tewksbury and Westford’s bans began November 1; North Reading’s and Woburn’s begin November 15.

Counts here treat Boston, including Charlestown and East Boston, as one entry. Rules are from each town’s own pages, updated November 9, 2026.

Standing ban or storm-only: the split

• Standing overnight ban (18 towns): no street parking during set hours, on a calendar, whether or not it snows.
• Storm-only (18 towns): Beverly, Billerica, Boston, Cambridge, Chelmsford, Everett, Lowell, Lynn, Marblehead, Peabody, Revere, Salem, Somerville, Swampscott, Topsfield, Tyngsborough, Wakefield and Winthrop. No set overnight hours; parking is restricted when a snow emergency is declared.
• In between (2 towns): Malden and Medford have neither a seasonal overnight ban nor a pure storm-only system. Malden limits parking to one side of the street, around the clock, from the first significant snowfall until April 1. Medford bars homes with a driveway or garage from parking on the street more than an hour between midnight and 7 a.m., and a car left 48 straight hours on a public way can be towed.
• Call the DPW (4 towns): Arlington, Chelsea, Danvers and Lynnfield. No rule is listed here; call the DPW or check the town site.

Towns with a standing overnight ban

Start dates run seven weeks apart. Tewksbury and Westford start November 1, North Reading and Woburn on November 15, most towns on December 1, and Nahant on December 21.

Four towns never take a break. Bedford, Belmont, Melrose and Winchester ban overnight street parking all year, and Saugus’s rule applies every night. Saugus’s posted traffic rules are dated 2016, so call the town to confirm its fine.

Most end April 1. Dracut (March 15) and Nahant (March 20) finish early; North Reading runs to April 15. Middleton’s pages give both April 1 and April 15.

Woburn bans only the even-numbered side, 2 to 6 a.m.; the odd side is allowed unless signed. The ordinance repeats each year, and the city’s winter advisory page posts the season’s notice. Andover’s chief can suspend the ban with Select Board approval, so confirm with the highway division at 978-623-8800.

Melrose: overnight street parking is not allowed, and the city’s January 2026 notice confirms the normal ban runs 2 to 6 a.m. every night. A guest can get a one-night exemption from the police department, up to 12 per year.

How snow emergencies work in the storm-only cities

In these places a mayor, police chief, DPW head or town manager declares an emergency, and street parking is restricted until it lifts. Sign up for your town’s alert system before the first storm; a missed alert is not grounds to dismiss a ticket in Somerville, and the posted sign always wins.

Boston (including Charlestown and East Boston). The Mayor declares the emergency. The ban applies to posted snow emergency arteries, listed by neighborhood on the city’s snow emergency parking page; cars there are ticketed and towed. Sign up for AlertBoston. Participating garages and lots take cars at a discount starting two hours before a declared emergency, and you must be out within two hours of the city lifting the ban. Examples from the city’s list as of its March 2026 update:

• Municipal Lots #002 (398 Market St) and #003 (125 Harvard Ave): free.
• Channel Center Garage (116 W. First St): $10 a day, credit cards only, with a Boston driver’s license as proof of residence.
• Motor Mart Garage (201 Stuart St): $10 per 24 hours with a Boston resident permit or proof of residency.
• Prudential Center Garage (800 Boylston St): $12 per 24 hours for Back Bay, Beacon Hill and South End residents, out by 9 a.m. after the ban lifts.
• Boston Common Garage: $2 a day for Beacon Hill residents.

If your car is towed, search the city’s towing database or call the Boston Police Tow Line at 617-343-4629. The tow lot is open Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., and automated kiosks release vehicles around the clock. Space savers are allowed only while an emergency is declared.

Somerville. The winter of 2026/27 starts in an even-numbered year, so during an emergency you may park only on the even-numbered side unless signs say otherwise. After a declaration you have four hours to move to the even side or a municipal lot. Meters and the 48-hour rule are not enforced. Alerts go out by phone, text and email, and flashing blue lights mark 22 intersections; 311 is 617-666-3311. Wrong side, tow zone, within 10 feet of a hydrant, and within 20 feet of an intersection are each $100. A tow is $132 plus $35 a day, and towed cars go to the Dilboy Stadium lot at 110 Alewife Brook Parkway (call Stephen’s Towing at 781-395-0808).

Medford. The city declares an emergency at its discretion and notifies by Reverse 911, email and text; sign up at medfordma.org/alerts. Nobody may park on the designated emergency arteries, including Main, Salem, Forest, Washington and Boston Ave, and cars there are towed. On other streets the city’s page gives odd-side parking for the winter that began in 2025 and ties the side to the year the season starts, so look for the city’s notice this season. City lots can be used but must be cleared by 7 a.m. the morning after the storm. The tow company is Stephen’s Automotive Transport, 781-396-8697.

Malden. The Police Chief can declare an emergency, and the city says it will give at least four hours’ notice. Cars on listed main arteries are ticketed ($25) and towed at once. Separate from the emergency, the one-side-only rule starts with the first significant snowfall. The city’s page posts the side for 2025/26 (odd) and says the side follows the year the season starts, so wait for the city’s notice this winter. To find a towed car, call Malden Police at 781-397-7171; parking questions go to 781-397-7196.

Salem. The ban starts automatically when 2 or more inches are predicted. Museum Place Garage and South Harbor Garage cost $5 per 24 hours or any portion of it, starting two hours before the declared start (not when the blue lights go on). The MBTA garage sets its own rates. City Hall is 978-745-9595.

Elsewhere. Lowell gives you six hours from the declaration to clear the street. Cambridge, Everett and Medford restrict arteries or one side of the street rather than every street. Topsfield effectively bans parking whenever it snows. Winthrop’s ban begins when the National Weather Service or media announce expected snow. Wakefield dropped its all-night winter ban and announces storm bans by Everbridge.

Tickets and tows

Fines range from $10 to $150, and few towns publish a tow fee. Where one is posted:

In Lynn a ticket, a tow and one day of storage comes to $380 before you get the car back; in Somerville it is about $267. Chelmsford’s $10 is in its code as written, not a typo.

Before the storm

1. Find your town above, then confirm on its own page. Rules change at Town Meeting.
2. If you commute through several towns, learn the strictest. Melrose and Winchester ban overnight street parking in every month.
3. Line up a driveway, town lot, garage or a friend’s spot before the forecast.
4. Be off the street before the declaration. Winthrop’s ban starts on a forecast, and Salem’s garage rate starts two hours before the declared start.

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Sources

• City of Melrose: Parking in Melrosecityofmelrose.org
• Town of Tewksbury: Snow and ice bylawstewksbury-ma.gov
• Town of Westford: Public Workswestfordma.gov
• Town of Middleton: Snow removal policiesmiddletonma.gov
• Town of Nahant: Parking in Nahantnahant.org
• City of Woburn: Winter advisorywoburnma.gov
• City of Lynn: Parking for snow emergencieslynnma.gov
• City of Medford: Snowmedfordma.org
• City of Malden: Winter Parkingcityofmalden.org
• City of Salem: Snow Emergency Parkingsalemma.gov
• City of Boston: Snow Emergency Parkingboston.gov
• City of Somerville: Snowsomervillema.gov
• City of Boston: Snowboston.gov
• City of Cambridge: Snowcambridgema.gov

Details such as dates, hours and prices come from the sources above and can change. Check with the organizer before you go.

How we report: every date, price and address comes from a linked source.