Pittsfield Winter Parking Changing

We all know how it can be a headache when the winter parking goes into effect. This may help a lot in the long run with this winter parking problems.

In a change from long-standing policy, the city of Pittsfield is moving to allow people to park their cars on city streets during snow emergencies. That practice has long banned to allow plow trucks to get through.

This is how the policy would work:

• On odd days, vehicles would park on the sides of streets with the odd-numbered addresses.
• On even days, parking would be allowed on streets with even-numbered addresses.

With those rules, residents of the city, in a multiday emergency, would need to move their vehicles at least every 24 hours.

Although it looks like this will ultimately be the policy going forward, not every city council member thinks it’s a good idea. The Eagle reports that Ward 2 Councilor Kevin Morandi, who voted against the change, says he worries that it could be hard to notify residents about the change.

The Berkshire Eagle reports that in a 10-1 vote Tuesday, the City Council agreed to allow people anywhere in the city to park their vehicles on one side of a street during declared snow emergencies. The change will still need further approval, but the goal is to get the change fully authorized before the first major snowstorm this winter.

The idea for alternate-side-of-the-street parking came initially from Ward 1 Councilor Helen Moon. She told colleagues Tuesday that she heard first from residents in the Morningside neighborhood, a high-density area along Tyler Street to the northeast of downtown. Residents told Moon they have struggled to find places to park during emergencies.