Basic Regulations

• All parked cars must have valid license plates and inspection stickers. Parking is not allowed in crosswalks, in designated bus stops, in intersections, on sidewalks, in front of curb ramps used by handicapped persons, in front of driveways, or within 10 feet of a fire hydrant. Parked cars must face the same way as prevailing traffic, have their curbside wheels no more than 1 foot from the curb, and leave an unobstructed lane at least 10 feet wide on one-lane streets or 20 feet wide on two-lane streets.
  
  

Posted Signs

• Don't Park Hereno parking sign image by sonya etchison from Fotolia.com
  
  A number of parking regulations limit parking where signs are posted, including parking within 20 feet of a driveway entrance to a fire station on the side adjacent to the station, parking within 75 feet of the driveway entrance on the opposite side of the street, parking in a Public Hackney Carriage Stand, parking in a handicapped zone (unless a handicapped or disabled veteran permit or license plate is displayed), and parking in a designated no-parking zone.
  
  

Parking Meters

• Parking meterparking meter image by Patrick Moyer from Fotolia.com
  
  Cars parked in metered spaces must be wholly within the painted lines adjacent to the meter or, if there are no lines, with the front bumper perpendicular to the meter. Parking at a meter beyond the time limit stated on the meter (i.e., re-feeding the meter) is prohibited, as is parking at an electronic meter that says "out of order."
  
  

Residential Permits

• Boston responded to the dearth of off-street parking by developing a residential parking permit program in most neighborhoods. Residents can apply for permits to park where their cars are registered and insured. Except in spaces designated as nonresident parking, only cars displaying these permits can legally park on streets with signs that say "resident parking only," except for commercial vehicles that are allowed to park for up to three hours while transacting business.
  
  

Street Cleaning

• Street sweeperStreet Sweeper2 image by Heng kong Chen from Fotolia.com
  
  Boston streets are cleaned on a weekly basis from April 1 to Nov. 31. Parking is permitted on only one side of a street during street-cleaning hours (i.e., parking will be prohibited on the first and third Mondays on one side of the street and on the second and fourth Mondays on the other side). Residents can sign up to get email reminders when their side of the street will be cleaned.
  
  

Snow Emergencies

• Parked car in snowcar in a snow image by Sergey Kolesnikov from Fotolia.com
  
  When a snow emergency is in effect, parking on major arteries is prohibited, but discounted parking is available to cars with valid residential stickers. Boston strictly enforces parking regulations during and after snowstorms, especially the rules against parking with curbside wheels more than 1 foot from the curb and against parking within 20 feet of an intersection. The transportation department has a program to send notifications of snow emergencies and parking bans to drivers who sign up.
  
  

Only in Boston

• Boston residents often leave items like lawn chairs or appropriated orange safety cones sitting in on-street parking spaces they have shoveled out and had to vacate, in order to maintain "ownership" of the clean spaces. Boston regulations require that these "space savers" be removed within 48 hours of the end of a snow emergency.