Snowstorm parking wars turn violent as cities crack down, neighbors clash and police warn of escalation
Boston residents dig out their cars after a snowstorm in Beacon Hill on Jan. 26, 2026. AP
After major snowstorms, the scramble for street parking in many Northeast cities can feel like a battle — and this winter, that struggle has taken a troubling turn.
City officials and residents alike are voicing frustration over a long-standing but controversial practice: claiming freshly shoveled parking spots with household items to keep others from taking them.
From Boston to Philadelphia, Baltimore to Washington, D.C., drivers are once again placing chairs, cones, trash cans, and other objects in cleared spaces as “space savers,” hoping to protect the spot they spent hours digging out. But the custom is sparking tension, and in some cases, violence.
Massive snowbanks and already limited urban parking have made the situation worse. While placing a chair in a parking spot may seem harmless, the practice has led to disputes among neighbors.
WBUR, a Boston University-owned radio station, has described incidents involving “retaliation, fights and vandalism.” In Philadelphia last week, an argument over a space saver involving several people left one man in critical condition.
Police said one man had a knife and another had a legally owned handgun. Both reportedly set their weapons down before continuing to fight.
“It’s very disturbing,” Philadelphia Police Sgt. Eric Gripp told ABC News. “Even though it seems like it’s not that serious of an issue, unfortunately, over the years we’ve seen some really tragic results.”
A long-standing ritual
The use of space savers dates back decades. In Chicago, the tradition reportedly took hold after the record-breaking blizzard of January 1967, when 23 inches of snow buried the city.
Different cities have their own names for the practice. Some call it “dibs,” others “savesies.” In Pittsburgh, the custom is so well known that residents nicknamed it the “Pittsburgh Parking Chair.”
Common markers include lawn chairs and traffic cones. In Boston, however, residents have reportedly used more unusual items, including a vacuum cleaner and even a toilet, according to Boston.com. In Philadelphia, drivers have placed folding tables and plastic bins in the street, while Baltimore and D.C. residents have dragged out trash cans and patio furniture.
“We see a lot of beach chairs,” Frank Ippolito Jr., owner of Ippolito Snow Services near Boston, told Fox News Digital. “A unique one this year: Someone put an ironing board out there, which I thought was pretty nifty.”
Ippolito, whose family has been in the snow removal business for more than five decades, said the recent January storm led to particularly heavy use of space savers as residents spent hours clearing their cars and parking spots.
Police and city leaders respond
Law enforcement and city leaders have repeatedly made clear that space savers are not permitted on public streets.
In Philadelphia, police have emphasized that the practice is illegal. In Baltimore, Mayor Brandon Scott said at the end of January, “If you put a lawn chair out there and I see it, it’s going away.”
He added a suggestion for neighbors: “If you’re doing that, take the next step. If you have an elderly neighbor, dig their spot out too. Don’t just dig yours out.”
Baltimore’s Department of Transportation warned that objects left in the street can interfere with snowplows, damage vehicles, and prevent crews from properly clearing roads.
Years earlier, in Washington, D.C., then-Police Chief Cathy Lanier issued a similar warning after a major snowfall.
“When people try to start saving that space, we start to see little tensions flare up between neighbors,” she told local media in January 2016. “Nobody has the legal right to save their own space on public streets.”
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