Snow Parking Bans North of Boston: 43 Towns
22 of the 43 towns we checked have a standing overnight parking rule. The rest only ban parking when a snow emergency is declared. Here is the difference, town by town.
Massachusetts towns handle winter parking in two different ways. Some ban overnight street parking on a fixed schedule, every night, for part of the year or all year. Others allow it until the town declares a snow emergency. Getting this wrong is how people end up with a ticket or a tow, so we read each town's own rule and summarize it here with the source.
22 of 43 towns have a standing overnight parking rule; the rest depend on a storm declaration.Town rules and bylaws linked below, read November 8, 2026
Towns with a standing overnight rule
| Town | The rule |
|---|---|
| Andover | No parking on any street 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. from Dec 1 to Apr 1; the Police Chief can suspend it with Select Board approval. Towed at owner's expense plus any fine. Current enforcement not confirmed. Source ↗ |
| Bedford | No parking on any street or town lot between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m., year round. Fine $25. No town lot is open for overnight parking, so find your own spot. Source ↗ |
| Belmont | No parking on any public or private street for over 1 hour between 1 a.m. and 7 a.m. Year round. Fine $25. Overnight parking on town lots is banned when snow is forecast. Source ↗ |
| Burlington | Dec 1 to Apr 1: no parking on any street 2-8 a.m. (General Bylaw Art. XIII 1.12). Fine $25 first offense, $50 after. Source ↗ |
| Dracut | No parking on any public street between 12 midnight and 6 a.m., December 1 through March 15, except in an emergency. Fine up to $10. Source ↗ |
| Lexington | No parking on any street for over 1 hour between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. Police enforce it strictly Dec 1 to Apr 1 for snow removal. A November warning tag says it may mean a $20 ticket. Source ↗ |
| Malden | Once the city calls the first significant snowstorm, parking is limited to one side of the street 24/7 until April 1. No overnight ban otherwise found. Violations can be ticketed or towed. Source ↗ |
| Medford | No seasonal overnight ban found. Homes with a driveway or garage may not park on the street over 1 hour between 12 a.m. and 7 a.m. Any car left 48 straight hours on a public way can be towed. Source ↗ |
| Melrose | No overnight street parking in Melrose: the normal ban is 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. every night, all year. One-night guest exemptions come from the Police Dept (12 per year). Source ↗ |
| Middleton | Overnight parking ban on all streets, 12:00 a.m.-6:00 a.m., Dec 1 through Apr 1 (one town page says Apr 15; the other says Apr 1). Source ↗ |
| Nahant | Winter overnight parking ban Dec 21 to Mar 20, 12 AM to 6 AM, every night. Cars on street or sidewalk can be ticketed and towed. Residents may apply for a winter parking sticker ($30 waiver fee). Source ↗ |
| North Reading | Nov 15 to Apr 15: no parking in public rights-of-way 1-6 a.m. (emergencies excepted). Fine amount not stated on the page. Source ↗ |
| Reading | No parking on any street or town lot 1-6 a.m. (Traffic Rules Sec. 5.9, Oct 2026). Police enforce streets only when snow is forecast; Downtown and town lots are enforced always. Fine $25. Source ↗ |
| Saugus | Traffic rules: no parking on any street longer than 1 hour between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m., every night. The rules on the town site are dated through 10/24/16. Source ↗ |
| Stoneham | Dec 1 to April 1: no parking on public streets from 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. Parking on sidewalks is never allowed. Source ↗ |
| Swampscott | No overnight ban: overnight street parking is allowed all year, except during declared snow events or when police and fire need the street clear. Source ↗ |
| Tewksbury | Nov 1 to Mar 31: no parking on any street midnight to 6 a.m. (Bylaw 8.24.010). Fine $25. Source ↗ |
| Wakefield | Wakefield no longer has an all-night winter parking ban. The town asks everyone to keep cars off the road during winter storms. Source ↗ |
| Westford | Winter parking ban Nov 1 to Mar 31: no on-street parking over 1 hour between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m., none during snowstorms or post-storm cleanup. $25 fine, may be towed. Source ↗ |
| Wilmington | Dec 1 to Apr 1: no parking on any public way 1-6 a.m. (By-Law Sec. 19). Fine up to $50, each day a separate offense. Source ↗ |
| Winchester | No parking on any street for more than 1 hour between 1 a.m. and 7 a.m. Year round, not just winter. Doctors, nurses and clergy visiting the sick are exempt. Source ↗ |
| Woburn | Nov 15 to Mar 31: no parking on the EVEN side of any street 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. Odd side is allowed unless signed. The 2026-27 notice is not posted yet; the ordinance repeats each year. Source ↗ |
Towns that ban parking only in a storm
In these towns we found no fixed overnight winter rule. Parking is restricted when the city or town declares a snow emergency, and the declaration usually comes through the alert system rather than a sign: Beverly, Billerica, Cambridge, Charlestown, Chelmsford, East Boston, Everett, Lowell, Lynn, Marblehead, Peabody, Revere, Salem, Somerville, Topsfield, Tyngsborough, Winthrop.
How to get storm alerts
Most towns send emergency declarations by phone, text or email, and many post them on their website and social accounts. Sign up before the first storm. Several towns' alert pages are linked from their town guide here.
Rules change, and some towns have updated bylaws we may not have seen. Treat this page as a starting point and confirm on the linked source. Also see local notices for the start dates of seasonal bans.