From December 1 through March 31, the City of Newton bans parking for longer than one hour between 2AM and 6AM “on any street, way, highway, road, parkway, or private way dedicated or open to the use of the public,” regardless of the weather. Vehicles parked in violation may be towed, and owners are subject to a $25 fine.
During these months, the City makes parking available for free in municipal parking lots on a permit basis — except in snow emergencies. During snow emergencies, these permits are suspended and all vehicles must be removed from municipal lots and may not stand or be parked on any way that would impede removal of snow from city streets. Vehicles in violation may be towed, and owners are subject to a $20 fine.
The municipal-lot permits are available to residents from the Police Department at no charge (application form). The Police Department says that complaints and requests for consideration regarding All Night Parking should be directed to the All Night Parking Hotline, 617-796-2142.
A movement to repeal the parking ban has failed to win sufficient votes in City Council. In various votes of the 24-member Council, 21 voted to deny the petition, 17 opposed a trial (temporary) repeal of the ban, and 22 voted against shortening the dates of the ban.
Despite these setbacks, the Repeal campaign has gathered sufficient signatures to schedule a ballot question for November, 2025. Jeremy Freudberg and Peter Klapes are Co-Founders and Co-Directors of the Repeal campaign. Freudberg told Fig City News, “Peter and I are acutely aware that so many Newton residents have grown tired of this nonsensical ban and are more eager than ever to repeal it at the ballot box next November. We both are seeing a ‘flurry’ of enthusiasm for our cause in our many discussions around the city. Our ballot question has been confirmed by the City, and we look forward to engaging widely and deeply with voters in the coming months.”
