Many parking meters have been buried in snow for more than a month, leaving drivers with the lingering question — are they still required to pay?
The answer is yes.
City officials have said they’re trying to be lenient where they can — but they have to ensure public safety by making certain roadways remain accessible.
The continual onslaught of snow has made this winter a tough time for everyone, especially Boston drivers who use on-street parking — and for the city of Boston, which relies on revenue from parking.
It’s now possible to see how all that is shaking out in terms of numbers.
Parking meter revenue is down by almost half. From mid-January to mid-February, the city earned $443,900 from meters, compared with more than $811,848 last year.
Ticket revenue is up, however. In the same time period, the city of Boston made $253,350 by issuing 5,669 snow-related parking tickets. That’s more than double the number of tickets issued last year, when 1,954 tickets were given.
But it could be worse, at least from a driver’s point of view. This year’s number of parking tickets is still short of what it was over the same time period in 2013, when the city issued 7,632 parking tickets, bringing in more than $408,213 for the city.
