AMHERST — Prohibition of on-street parking between 2 and 6 a.m. during the cold weather season begins Thursday.
The overnight parking ban, which runs through April 1, requires all vehicles to be removed from roads no matter the weather conditions.
First-time offenders are issued a warning, with a ticket issued the second time a vehicle violates the ban, followed by a ticket and removal of the vehicle by a tow truck the third time.
Public spaces on Pray Street and in the lower level of the Boltwood parking garage are the only places where people are currently allowed to park vehicles overnight. Vehicles should be removed from the garage by 7 a.m.
The Downtown Parking Working Group, formed earlier this year, is discussing changes to the town’s winter parking regulations, including a pilot program that would allow on-street parking in permit spaces in Amherst center, said Sandra Anderson, chairwoman of the group.
Its recommendation for broadening where vehicles can be parked during the winter months will be reviewed by the Department of Public Works and then the Select Board.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
