Boston Snow Emergency Parking Ban: Towing Rules and How to Avoid Getting Towed

When the City of Boston declares a snow emergency, parking is banned on roughly 800 streets marked with red-and-white signs. Cars left on those streets will be ticketed and towed — and you'll pay both the city fine and the tow yard release fee.

How to know a snow emergency is active: the city sends AlertBoston SMS, posts on @CityOfBoston, and lights up the boston.gov/snow page. Most local news apps push notifications.

Where to park during a ban: the city opens about 20 garages and parking lots at a discounted $5–$10 rate during the emergency window. The full list is at boston.gov/snow.

If your car was towed during a snow emergency: it's almost certainly at one of the city's contracted tow yards. Call 617-635-3900 (Boston's tow lot info line) to find which yard. Bring your registration, license, and payment — expect $90–$170 to release, plus the parking ticket.

Cambridge, Somerville, Brookline, and Chelsea each run their own snow-emergency programs with similar rules. Sign up for your city's alert system before the next storm.

BosTowing doesn't tow for the city during snow emergencies, but if your private vehicle gets stuck, blocked in, or needs a winch-out from a snowbank, we run 24/7 throughout every storm. Call (617) 908-2024.