Q: I plan to vote yes, can you change my mind?

The 4 hour 4 month parking restriction for snow still makes sense!
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Q: I Don't Have Parking. Why Should I Vote No?

The long-term consequence of voting "Yes" is that you will permanently lose your spot as other people will be competing for that same space, we need regulation to help people in your situation.

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Q: How do you justify keeping the ban rather than repealing it?

Our support for the ban includes support for equitable management of a scarce public resource.
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The Parking Problem: Short-Term Convenience vs. Comprehensive Policy

We fully understand the daily struggle and the critical need for parking. The ballot initiative offers the promise of immediate relief from the winter ban, but this is a misleading solution that fails to address the underlying issue. Voting "Yes" would actually create severe pressure on limited resources, worsening the parking shortage for you and your neighbors in the long run.

The problem is complex. The ballot question gives the city a simple, blunt choice that seriously limits the City Council's ability to create the comprehensive, fair plan that all of Newton actually needs.

Why a Blanket Repeal will make parking more difficult in the long-term

The winter parking ban, though inconvenient, serves as a mechanism for controlling a scarce public resource. By being in effect for only four months, this small restriction is a strategic tool. Repealing the ban now forfeits the Council's ability to create a truly fair system.

1. Elimination of the Soft Barrier: The ban is a time-limited constraint that prevents people from committing to permanent, year-round reliance on the street. It forces property owners and renters to account for vehicle storage alternatives four months a year. Removing this annual rule instantly converts a temporary inconvenience into a permanent, unmanaged competition on your street.

2. Increased Competition: A repeal provides permanent, free convenience for everyone, leading to inevitable pressure on the limited parking spaces. This includes residents who have private driveways but simply prefer the street, and non-residents who now see your neighborhood as a 24/7 public parking lot.

3. Incentive for Inadequate Development: Crucially, a repeal sends a message to developers: "You have less need to build parking." It actively undermines the long-term goal of increasing housing supply with adequate parking. Newton is a highly desirable community facing strong development pressure from tear-downs and new construction. Furthermore, the MBTA Communities Act requires the city to zone for more dense housing near transit centers. This development is coming, and if the ban is repealed, the city will have forfeited its best tool to ensure that new apartments and homes are designed with sufficient off-street parking. We must avoid approving policies that create new housing units and simultaneously dump more cars onto your already crowded street.

The Path to a Fair and Sustainable Parking System

Instead of destroying a key policy tool (once the ban is removed, reinstating it becomes politically and logistically difficult), we want the City Council to address parking comprehensively and with compassion.

We encourage and demand a detailed plan that includes managed permitting or parking rules designed specifically to protect residents in your situation. This system must be built on the principle of prioritizing need over want:

• Prioritize Need: Residents who have no off-street parking alternative (like many renters) should be given priority for permits in designated areas.

• Discourage Want: Residents who have a driveway or garage must be discouraged from using limited on-street parking for convenience, preserving those spots for people who truly need them.

• Maintain Flexibility: The comprehensive plan must include tools like alternating-side parking and utilizing city-owned assets during the winter ban, ensuring that the policy meets the essential needs of snow removal, public safety, street cleaning, and community welfare.

The Choice: Reject the Easy Answer, Demand the Best Policy

The ballot question forces a dangerous, non-nuanced choice. We urge you to vote "No" to protect your long-term interests and to allow the City Council the space and the necessary tools to develop the best policy for all of Newton—one that is fair, comprehensive, safe, and truly prioritizes the needs of residents who lack private parking.

Why Repealing the Ban Is Poor Public Policy

Repealing the ban is a dangerous and short-sighted solution that fails to maintain public safety and actively encourages detrimental development practices.

While a repeal would appear to solve an individual's parking problem, it is fundamentally flawed as a policy initiative because:

• Incentivizes Inadequate Development: Repealing the ban sends a clear message to developers and property owners that they can rely indefinitely on the public street to store their residents' vehicles. This directly encourages building without adequate off-street parking, worsening long-term congestion, and accelerating the consumption of public resources without cost to the developers or users. It actively undermines efforts to promote smart, sustainable building.

• Massive Cost Shift: Repeal would institutionalize the higher operational costs of plowing around parked cars—a cost borne by all taxpayers.

• Compromises Public Safety for Private Convenience: A repeal would eliminate the city's ability to efficiently clear snow, leading to street blockages, delayed emergency response times, and hazardous conditions for pedestrians and non-driving residents. Public safety cannot be held hostage to the demands of year-round, free, private vehicle storage on public land.
  
  

Prioritizing Public Safety and The Common Good

We fully acknowledge the personal hardship the winter overnight parking ban places on residents without private parking. Our support for the ban is rooted not in a lack of compassion, but in a non-negotiable commitment to public safety and the equitable management of a scarce public resource.

The ban must be maintained because it:

1. Manages a Scarce Resource: By restricting parking only during the winter, the city employs the softest form of restriction while still signaling that public street parking is a contingent privilege, not a permanent right. It compels developers and residents to internalize the true cost of storage, preventing an invisible, perpetual subsidy paid for by all taxpayers.

2. Ensures Public Safety: The street is a public right-of-way, and during winter, it must be instantly available for essential municipal operations. Clear streets are vital for comprehensive snow removal, which guarantees access for emergency services (ambulances, fire, police) and maintains mobility for all residents. This immediate safety imperative takes precedence over the convenience of free private vehicle storage.

SUPPORT FOR Compassionate Alternatives

Our position has always been that the city must limit the resource for the common good and pursue accessible alternatives to mitigate the resulting hardship. The solution is not to compromise public safety by repealing the ban, but to focus on managed solutions:

• Utilizing City-Owned Assets: We believe opening up underutilized city-owned facilities (e.g., school lots, municipal office parking structures) as temporary, centralized overnight parking zones during the winter ban.

• Flexible Permitting System: We support developing a hardship-based permitting system to grant temporary overnight permits in low-risk zones or during minimal snow periods, providing flexibility while maintaining the general rule for safety.

We believe in a policy that is firm on safety, clear on resource management, and compassionate in its execution.