So if you live in a place where it snows often -- what do you do about parking?

[Rafiki31]

In Boston, fights over parking spaces in residential areas can get ugly. People put items on the street to "save" their spot...ironing boards, chairs, sofas. If someone dares to park in a shoveled out spot that's been "saved", they may find their tires slashed (or worse) when they return.

Haha that is the TRUTH! In my area people shovel out their own spot, and then put a chair or garbage can in it. You NEVER EVER take a spot "reserved" in such a manner, unless you enjpy smashed glass and flat tires. It still seems to happen every snow storm though. People from the neighborhood know better. It must be a Boston thing. Last year there were two stabbings in Southie over "reserved" spots.

 

[wdw_girl_18]

In my part of chicago most people do not have garages. In front of our house we cannot park if it is snowing over 2 inches. Usually I end up parking a few blocks away. Even when there is no parking on our block, the plows don't plow to the curb. So when its through snowing we have to dig out in front of our house along with wherever we parked our car. Its so frustrating, especially when our neighbors are too lazy to dig out the spot in front of their house and park in ours !!!!

 

[englishteacha]

We have driveways and offstreet parking. The cities have parking bans when it snows and no one can park on the street. I live in a rural town (4000 people) and everyone has driveways. We hire someone to plow, though we used to snowblow. We figured it was cheaper to have a plow than DH to give up 4 hours of work to clear the snow. (DH is self employed...when he doesn't work he doesn't get paid.) Our church doesn't have a parking lot, but there's a municipal lot we could use if we couldn't park on the street.

 

[merryweather20]

New construction must provide appropriate parking for the residents. You don't get any "sprawl" in the downtown for this since the parking is usually underground. Even in older construction on a tightly packed street at least 1 in 8 houses would have a curb cut and a parking spot. Since accommodations with parking are easy to find, many of the residents are transit users with no cars.

Usually the odd even come during the day when everyone is at work, so its not an issue. If there is someone elderly in the neighbourhood a SAHM would go move their car for them during the day.

If anyone tried to leave a chair or an ironing board in the street it would be disposed of by city-workers or the police.

If snow piles on corners and intersections cause visibility and safety issues they come and cart them off in a truck.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I'm hearing a lot of parking restrictions -- but where would you expect the cars to go?

Well, one of my siblings lives in Boston and said that during snow emergencies residents without parking arrangements need to park in public (pay) garages.

 

[kaytieeldr]

We managed to fit FIVE cars and a 30 ft. travel trailer into our driveway.

One of my siblings bought the house in which we grew up. Long before that, at one point, there were (ahem) several young adults - all with cars - living there, along with my parents each having a car. They expanded the driveway from two cars to six cars (more in a true emergency). Too bad the house is in the suburbs where everyone already has sufficient parking

In Boston, fights over parking spaces in residential areas can get ugly. People put items on the street to "save" their spot...ironing boards, chairs, sofas. If someone dares to park in a shoveled out spot that's been "saved", they may find their tires slashed (or worse) when they return.

Now restricted (by law or edict?) to 48 hours. After that, city workers removen (and trash) any place-holders

One of my coworkers, during last week's eventual no-easter, worked the early shift - not due to concerns about driving in the no, but specifically because of the parking situation in Boston.

 

[Hidden_Mickey]

We live in a suburb just north of NYC. When we were first married we lived in an apartment in a 2 family house and had to park on the street. I would dig my car out and each time the plow would come by it would shove the snow under and around my car, tightly packed. I vowed never again! Then we moved to a single family house with a one car attached garage. Guess who got the garage? I told DH he could have it as long as he dug my car out of the driveway. We recently moved to a house with a two car garage that is not attached to the house. Usually DH parks on the street and I park at the end of the driveway. When it snows we move both cars into the garage. Hopefully the next move will be to Florida! The town does a good job plowing within 12 - 24 hours, depending on how much snow there is, but if it's really high, then the next few days they will post signs on certain streets downtown saying not to park there the next day so they can plow. I have seen them plow and use a construction type truck to pick up the snow and put it into a dump truck. I dunno where it goes... Long Island Sound?

We drove to Hoboken, NJ today and holy cow! They are not that much south of us (an hour?) but they got slammed in the last two storms, and there was a LOT of snow on the streets, taking up parking spots. I would have thought they would have cleared it by now.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Ahhh . . . thank goodness I live in Las Vegas, where you never have to shovel the heat.

Ok ...no sunny, warm weather type talk is permitted in this thread! Them there is fightin' words!

Well, okay... but it DOES snow in Las Vegas. December 17, 2008. And it didn't completely melt until several days later.

 

[jlima]

Well, okay... but it DOES snow in Las Vegas. December 17, 2008. And it didn't completely melt until several days later.

Yep . . . but nothing like east coast snow. This is what it looked like where I was working at the time:

 

[smidgy]

in chicago, it snows , often, and , sometimes, a lot. I grew up in a neighborhood with houses. everyone had a garage, or at least a spot infornt of their house. when I got married, we moved into a neighborhood of apartment buildings., mostly 6 flats. let me tell you, there weren't enough parking spaces in the summer!
at the first snow (maybe late nov.) whoever "happened" to have a spot, put out ugly chairs, and wood planks, and "declared" that spot "their" sspot until late march!!!
now, I understand, if there is a big storm, and you clear out your spot (ie, shovel for hours t dig your car out), you hope it's there when you return. problem being.. there aren't enough spots for everyone in good weather!!! so there are people "hosing down" cars that "took MY spot" with water, to ice them over. these neighborhoods with 6 flats were built with only 6 cars in mind (and, Maybe, 6 car gargages,. now, most people ahve 2, or 3 cars in one flat. ) there just insnt enough room, and the landlord rent out the one caaar garge to whoever they choose, whether it is their tenant, or not.
so, to answer your question (or NOT answer it, actually) even in chicago, where we are USED TO snow, there is no plan. first come, first served. I worked until 2 AM, and no way I could find a spot near my building. that's why, during the day, while everyone was at their day jobs, I went around, (with other housewives)tearing down the illegal "kitchen chair, wood plank, this is MY spot" crap.
wish I could have made you feel better about it.
you think people turn into "animals" about stakng out a spot for "spectro magic" or "illuminations"? try parking in Chicago, in an apartment neighborhood, in winter!

 

[smidgy]

just read through this thread. no, cities that have a lot of snow so NOT always have driveways. most of the living dwellings do NOT have driveways. in the chicago area, driveways are mostly a suburban thing. the houses )and ususally the apartment buildings) have garages, with ALLEYS.
but, there are (more often than not) many neighborhoods with 3 of 6 flats. many have no garages. if they do, there are 6 garage spaces, for 6 apartments.... see the problem here? and, often, the landlord has rented those out to others. gee, when my sons got older, we had 4 cars for the 4 of us (thank goodness, by then we had moved 45 miles out of chicago.)
when we live in the city, during the "big snow" of 79, we had one car. parked where it was supposed to be parked. the snow plow "totaled" it! never got any money from it. (and that was the big snow that cost Mayor Bilandic his reelection)
no, cities that are used to snow STILL don't know how to deal with it.

 

[BellePrincessBelle]

Usually there is a lot that they dedicate for this purpose within a few blocks (ie. grocery store, convenience store, etc.). Basically its an inconvenience for all, but a necessity.

That! We also have the even-odd side of the street parking as well as straight out parking bans. Most people have a driveway in the suburbs but in the cities they make do with public lots.