snow parking

Activists in Newton are currently collecting signatures for a measure to repeal the municipal winter parking ban. What seems like a low-impact, hyper-local car issue actually has far-reaching consequences for housing and accessibility.

In a nutshell, the parking ban prohibits cars on the street from December to April between the hours of 2am to 6am; any officer who encounters a car is mandated to ticket it for $25.

Why to repeal

The parking ban adds unnecessary complexity to Newton life. For example, renters who own a car but who don’t have a parking space cannot easily park their cars for half the year, which has driven renters out who need to drive to work. Homeowners have had to pave over parts of their lawn to add extra driveway space. Folks whose driveways don’t lead to entryways into their homes have to be creative when navigating with heavy or awkward items. And, it’s an accessibility nightmare.

Plus, the current laws already take snow emergencies into account; repealing the parking ban wouldn’t detract from this.

The case for the ban

To steel-man the argument in favor of the parking ban, I spoke to advocates of the current law, and compiled the following arguments:

Waltham, a neighboring city, also doesn’t allow cars to park on the street; we don’t want people using Newton as their parking lot and walking over. Repealing the measure also promotes development, which is pro-corporation, and that can change the character of the city. If the streets are car-friendly, people will buy more cars and clog them up. It will also make it harder for trash to get collected.

However, these arguments, in my opinion, are largely unfounded. This parking ban only applies part of the year; for the rest of the year (and in the warmest months when people are actually outside), Newton isn’t a car-filled nightmare to navigate or live in. More people overall might invest in cars if it were feasible to have them on the street year-round, but people who live in Newton and need a car are already finding ways around it. This law seems cumbersome, unclear in its goals, and worthy of being repealed.

Takeaways

Obviously, I support repealing this law when Newton residents vote in November. However, the broader takeaway from this conversation is how oddly specific local laws can have far-reaching effects on our communities and businesses through unintended ripple effects, and amplifying their message can have an outsized impact compared to other forms of activism.