Newton Residents to Vote on Overturning City-wide Overnight Parking Ban

Newton residents heading to the polls in November will have an opportunity to overturn a decades-old city regulation.

Since 1936, overnight street parking has been prohibited in some form in Newton. The current ban prohibits any on-street parking from Dec. 1 through April 1 between the hours of 2 a.m. and 6 a.m.

Peter Klapes and Jeremy Freduberg have been leading the effort to overturn the overnight parking ban by getting the item added to the 2025 municipal election ballot. They've been lobbying to change the law since 2022. So far, the pair has collected enough signatures to place the possibility of changing the law on November's ballot.

Klapes believes the parking ban is out of touch with today's parking realities. “It's supposed to be for snow clearing,” he said in an interview with the Patch of Newton.

According to Klapes, Newton City Council has not changed the ordinance because council members hope that the rule “disincentivizes” people from owning vehicles.

“They want residents living what they call a car-light lifestyle, relying on bicycles and public transportation,” he said. 

Klapes noted that the community response to the regulation change has been overall positive.

“We have about 70 yard signs all across the city and requests for many more,” he said to the Patch.