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Not sure? Read the voter guide to parking issues
What people say
Mayoral Candidate
- Marc Laredo
City Counselors
- Randy Block
- Maria Greenberg
- Marc Laredo - President
- Alison Leary
- David Micley
- John Oliver
- Pam Wright
Former Alderman
- Elaine Gentile
Newtonville Area Council
- Dan Cohen
- Carolyn Gabbay
Nonantum Neighborhood Assoc,
- Terry Sauro - Chair
Randy Block - City Councilor
Randy Block - City Councilor
Voters are being asked to repeal the overnight parking ban. In addition to making it easier to clear streets of snow, this parking ban serves a second critical purpose. It ensures that developers create off-street parking for their tenants. Without this overnight parking ban, we can expect developers to build ever larger housing units without any off-street parking. Consequently, the streets will get more congested and difficult to navigate. A very small number of people currently do not have off-street parking. We can help them with a special permit for overnight parking without lifting the ban for the entire city.
John Oliver, City Councilor from Ward 1, and Pam Wright, City Councilor from Ward 3, oppose the repeal, but agree that the City and the City Council need to work on a comprehensive solution. From their perspective, the solution should come before the repeal. Among the problems they foresee in repeal is “long-term” on-street parking, particularly near colleges and commuter rail stations; likely increase in on-street parking near large developments; and a reduction in required on-site parking requirements.
Alison Leary, Ward 1 Newton City Council - Oct 7, 2025
Alison Leary, Ward 1 Newton City Council - Oct 7, 2025
“I support keeping the winter overnight parking ban in place. The winter parking ban has
the effect of a tempering down on the number of cars brought into the city, reducing
traffic and pollution. It also allows the city to effectively sweep and plow streets.
Removing the ban will ensure that our denser neighborhoods will be parked up
year-round very similar to the streets in Allston-Brighton.”
“If the parking ban is overturned, the city will need time to plan for a comprehensive
resident parking program in many parts of the city, including Nonantum, Newton Corner,
parts of Auburndale, West Newton and Upper and Lower Falls. This will require
significant resources for the administration and enforcement of the permit parking
program with the cost of the program covered by the permit parking fees.”
David Micley, Ward 2 Newton City Council - Oct 24, 2025
David Micley, Ward 2 Newton City Council - Oct 24, 2025
“I will be voting no on repealing Newton’s winter overnight parking ban. While I recognize there are circumstances where the parking ban is too restrictive for residents that need the flexibility to park on the street, I think a targeted approach based on neighborhood by neighborhood analysis makes more sense than an all at once repeal of the ban due to the risks of increased cars parked and on the road that we could expect year round, especially in denser neighborhoods, if no overnight restriction was in place during the winter months.”
Newtonville Area Councilor - Dan Cohen
Newtonville Area Councilor - Dan Cohen
The street is a public right-of-way. In winter, its availability for essential operations and emergency access must come first along with the safety of pedestrians and students in morning hours. Our city’s policies should be firm on safety, clear about managing limited curb space, and compassionate in its execution
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