Tradition of Boston space savers explained

Name: Here are some of the best ways to shovel snow
Uploaded: 2022-11-17T12:38:42-05:00
Duration: 1 min 9 s
Description: Most people don’t look forward to shoveling snow, but it can be a lot easier and safer if you know how to do it.

Most people don’t look forward to shoveling snow, but it can be a lot easier and safer if you know how to do it.

01:09

Here are some of the best ways to shovel snow

Most people don’t look forward to shoveling snow, but it can be a lot easier and safer if you know how to do it.

BOSTON – Boston residents can spend hours painstakingly shoveling out their vehicles from under mounds of snow after winter weather slams the city, and it can be gut-wrenching to pull up after a long day only to find someone has swooped into that parking spot to take advantage of all that hard work.

Thus, the tradition of using everyday objects as a space saver was created.

When a snow emergency is declared in Boston, main roads must be cleared of all cars so plows and emergency vehicles can traverse the snow-covered streets. Any vehicles that remain will be ticketed and towed.

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A parking space saver is seen in South Boston on East Third St this afternoon, February 11, 2011. Staff photo by Mark Garfinkel (Photo by Mark Garfinkel/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)

And anyone living in or who has previously lived in Boston during a nor'easter knows parking can be tricky.

Some parking garages offer discounts to residents who have neighborhood-specific parking stickers. And there are other options. Some parking lots at businesses will allow residents to park until the snow stops falling.

But for people living in neighborhoods that aren't required to move their vehicles, their lives are a little easier.

Until it comes time to shovel themselves out.

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It can take quite a while for Bostonians to clear all the snow from on top of and around their cars. And the process takes even longer when a snowplow rolls through, pushing it all back to where it came from.

But when the job is done, and it's possible to pull out of the space, you risk losing it to someone else.

To help, Boston has a rule that everyday objects like chairs, vacuums and trash cans can be used as space savers to claim the coveted space.

However, that rule only applies if a snow emergency is declared, and they're only allowed for 48 hours after the snow emergency ends. After that, you need to move it, or the city will remove it for you.

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BOSTON, MA - FEBRUARY 10: A sign on a "space saver" in a shoveled out parking spot issues a warning on the day after a blizzard in Boston, Feb. 10, 2017. (Photo by David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

And anyone who dares move a space saver to steal the parking spot risks slashed tires, keyed cars, broken windows - or worse.

After a snowstorm in January 2022, one unlucky resident awoke to find his Jeep destroyed, according to Boston 25 News.

That resident told reporter Jason Law that he thinks his vehicle was targeted for parking in a space that had been shoveled out earlier.

The following day, he said he found someone had shoveled snow inside the vehicle and had vomited all over the interior.

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FILE - An ironing board is used as a space saver to claim a shoveled parking spot on East 4th Street in South Boston, Massachusetts on December 16, 2013, after the first snow storm of the season. (Photo by Jessica Rinaldi for The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

(Getty Images)

"It was absolutely destroyed," the resident told Law. "The inside. They just puked everywhere."

He told Boston 25 News there was no space saver in the parking spot or any other object indicating it had been claimed. He filed a report and the Boston Police Department investigated the incident.

So, even if a Boston resident doesn’t want to use a space saver, most follow the rules and dare not touch or move it – just to be safe.

Boston space savers explained: Move at your own risk

Anyone who dares move a space saver to steal a parking spot in Boston after a nor'easter risks having their tires slashed, cars keyed, windows broken - or worse

Here are some of the best ways to shovel snow