How a snow emergency is declared and announced
New Bedford Towing gets two kinds of calls after a snow emergency: from drivers whose car was towed under the parking ban, and from drivers whose legally parked car is now behind the ridge a plow left. We can help with the second, and the first is avoidable, so this guide covers the city's rules as the city states them, what ignoring them costs, and what to do when the plow buries a car that broke no rule.
New Bedford averages 32.5 inches of snow a year on NOAA's 1991-2020 normals, and the coastal storms the National Weather Service calls nor'easters, most frequent and most violent between September and April, nearly always bring heavy rain or snow. A full snow emergency is not declared for every storm, which is why knowing how it is announced matters.
The city's Winter Storm Guide describes the trigger: when the forecast calls for significant snowfall and the Commissioner of Public Infrastructure determines the storm will require more than normal operations, he declares a full snow emergency. It is announced through local media - print, radio, television and online - and on the City of New Bedford website, New Bedford Cable Access and the city's social media accounts.
Once declared, the parking ban is strictly enforced and remains in effect for 48 hours thereafter unless lifted or further extended by city officials. The January 18, 2026 ban took effect at 6:30 p.m. on a Sunday, so a driver who saw the announcement on Monday morning had been in violation all night. For snow-removal questions the city's snow line is 508-991-6150.
Where you may park during the ban
The rules are about sides of the street, and they are the same citywide. Parking is permitted on the north side of all streets running east and west, and on the east side of all streets running north and south. On streets normally posted for parking on one side only, residents obey the signs as usual. And whatever the storm, a vehicle should never be parked within ten feet of a fire hydrant or twenty feet of a corner.
A set of streets is banned on both sides for the length of the emergency, with the segment limits listed on the city page:
- The Downtown Business District and the Acushnet Avenue Business District
- Ashley Boulevard and County Street
- Kempton Street and Mill Street - the one-way pair that carries US 6 through the city
- Cottage Street, Wood Street and Nash Road
- Dartmouth Street and Rivet Street
Where to put the car instead
The city lists more than 40 off-street locations where residents may park free during a ban - parks, school lots, garages and municipal lots - among them Victory Park, Buttonwood Park, the Elm Street Garage and the Zeiterion Garage. The full list is in the Winter Storm Guide, and it is worth reading before the storm rather than during it.
Move the car before the ban's start time, not after. Once the ban is in effect, a car on the wrong side is in violation whether or not the plow has reached that street, and the enforcement on January 18 and 19, 2026 was overnight: by morning the city had issued 506 tickets and towed 170 vehicles.
If the car will not start when you go to move it, remember that a battery that was marginal in October tends to quit on the first hard cold snap, and a jump start is a quicker fix than a tow. A car that moves on its own wheels before the ban starts is the cheapest way through the storm.
What ignoring the ban costs
The Winter Storm Guide states the penalties: violations are subject to ticketing at $50 per ticket - a municipal fine set by the city, not a towing charge - and towing at full cost to the owner of the vehicle towed. The vehicle owner is also responsible for the full cost of storage for any towed vehicle. A ban tow is therefore three bills - the ticket, the tow and the storage - and the storage runs by the day until the car is collected.
The numbers show how seriously the city means it. Overnight on January 18 and 19, 2026, police issued 506 tickets and towed 170 vehicles; a television report put the weekend total at 179 towed and about 1,200 ticketed, and quoted Mayor Jon Mitchell: "It's not a suggestion. The ban is mandatory." The January 5, 2018 ban produced 593 tickets and 70 tows.
A ban tow is ordered by a public authority, so the tow charge is capped under the state's 220 CMR 272 schedule, which names snow-removal tows, and the storage under M.G.L. c. 159B, ยง 6B. To find the car, call the New Bedford Police non-emergency line at 508-991-6350 or the nearest station; the department will tell you who towed it and where it is. The storm guide does not name the yard, so that call is the way to find it.
If the plow buried a car that broke no rule
The other call is the one we can help with. A car parked on the permitted side, or in a driveway, comes out of a storm behind the ridge the plow left: a packed, often refrozen bank that a shovel handles slowly and a spinning tire does not handle at all. That car has not been towed and is not going to be. It needs a winch-out for a car the plow buried, which is a pull rather than a tow, quoted as its own job.
Do not spin the wheels. Each spin polishes the snow under the tire into ice and drops the car lower, and a car that has dug itself in takes a winch line where a car sitting on top of the snow takes a recovery strap. Then call, and we ask what the car is sitting in, how far it is from clear pavement, and whether it is all-wheel drive or electric, because those cars come out on a straight pull and, if they need to move on a truck afterward, ride a flatbed rather than a wheel-lift.
That is our towing and recovery service in New Bedford in winter: the pull first, then a tow only if the car needs one. If it does, and the car is all-wheel drive or electric, the reason it goes on the bed is the subject of the next guide, why an all-wheel-drive or electric car rides on a flatbed.
Three short answers
How long does a New Bedford snow emergency parking ban last?
The city's Winter Storm Guide says the parking ban is strictly enforced and remains in effect for 48 hours after it is declared, unless lifted or further extended by city officials. The declaration is made by the Commissioner of Public Infrastructure and announced through local media, the city website, New Bedford Cable Access and the city's social media accounts.
Which side of the street can I park on during a New Bedford snow emergency?
Park on the north side of streets running east and west and on the east side of streets running north and south, obey the signs on streets normally posted for one-side parking, and stay off the double-sided ban streets such as County Street, Kempton Street, Mill Street and Ashley Boulevard entirely. Keep at least ten feet from a hydrant and twenty feet from a corner.
Is there free parking in New Bedford during a snow ban?
Yes. The city lists more than 40 off-street locations - parks, school lots, garages and municipal lots - where residents may park during a ban, including Victory Park, Buttonwood Park, the Elm Street Garage and the Zeiterion Garage. The full list is in the city's Winter Storm Guide.