Parking in Boston, Massachusetts

Parking meters in downtown Boston charge 25¢ per quarter-hour, and parking lots charge much more, up to $8 for the first half-hour.

There are parking meters on many major streets.

Minor streets are often dedicated to Resident Parking, for which your car must have a special sticker. Do not park on Resident Parking streets if your car lacks the proper sticker, or you are liable to having your car ticketed (fined) and towed away.

Some fines for parking illegally are:

—Expired meter: $25

—Loading Zone: $55

—No Stopping zone: $75

—Towing: up to $90 (plus the applicable fine)

Boston parking enforcement officers issued 1,527,061 parking tickets during the 2006-2007 fiscal year, earning $63 million for the city.

If you stay for some time in Boston, do not accumulate a backlog of unpaid parking tickets: your car may be towed and impounded, held hostage until the tickets are paid.

For the visitor unfamiliar with the city, I'd suggest the large Boston Common Underground Garage (map), entered from Charles Street between the Common and the Public Garden, with moderate rates.

Another large garage is the Government Center Parking Garage, at Haymarket between Government Center and the North End, near the TD Banknorth Garden and North Station.

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