Lynn drivers are on the clock. City officials say a snow advisory has triggered a citywide parking ban starting at 8 p.m. Friday, and any car left on a public street risks a ticket and a tow. Designated snow-parking lots opened at 6 p.m., with the Lynn Public Schools downtown campus at 195 Market Street among the locations available to residents. Towed vehicles will be brought to the ferry-terminal tow yard on Blossom Street, and the city says updates, including when the ban is lifted, will go out through official communication channels.
The Lynn Police Department pushed out the warning on Facebook Friday evening, urging residents to clear cars from the streets before enforcement begins, according to Lynn Police Department. The post bluntly reminds drivers that any car left on the street is fair game for ticketing and towing and notes that snow parking lots would be open to residents ahead of the ban.
Where to park and how to avoid a tow
The city’s Snow Emergencies page spells out where you can stash your car and what happens if you do not move it in time, including the tow lot address at 389 Blossom Street at the Lynn Ferry Terminal site and the costs that come with it, according to City of Lynn. A tow will run $195, with a $150 citation on top and a $35 per day storage fee for vehicles removed during a snow ban.
Residents using designated snow parking lots get a grace period, but not a long one. If the parking ban ends before 9 p.m., they have two hours to move their cars. If the ban lifts after 9 p.m., they have until 6 a.m. the following morning. The Parking Department also notes a Snow Permit pilot program this winter that lets the city contact owners of registered vehicles parked in school lots.
What forecasters expect
The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory for much of eastern Massachusetts through early Saturday and is calling for roughly 3 to 5 inches of snow in Boston-area zones that include Lynn, according to NWS Boston/Norton. Local coverage warns the evening commute could turn slushy and slow, and that the region is keeping an eye on the possibility of a larger coastal storm early next week, per Boston 25 News.
How to stay up to date
Lynn Community Television is posting neighborhood-level updates, including a map of open snow lots and information on when plows are expected to roll through, and is steering residents toward official city channels for final word on restrictions, per LynnTV. For direct emergency alerts, the station points people to the city’s RAVE and Smart911 sign-up pages and social feeds so residents know as soon as the parking ban is lifted.
If you think your car did not make it out in time, the city’s Snow Emergencies page lists the tow lot address, fees and step-by-step instructions for getting your vehicle back, according to City of Lynn. Drivers can also revisit the department’s Facebook advisory for the original warning and photos of posted notices, per Lynn Police Department.
