Neighbors in Newton, Massachusetts, continue to be at odds over the city's overnight winter parking ban.
The controversial issue is actually the one and only ballot question for residents this Tuesday -- vote yes to repeal the ban, or vote no to keep it.
For decades, Newton drivers have been starting up their cars and moving them every night as part of the overnight winter parking ban. And for more than two years now, there's been a lot of back and forth about this ban.
"This ban doesn't do anything," said Ward 8 City Councilor Stephen Farrell, who noted the ban is a full four months out of the year -- Dec. 1 through March 31 between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. "They come back and park during the day when the snowplows are trying to clean the streets and everybody complains about."
"It's unjustifiable to people that have to get up every single night and move their cars when there are no snowstorms," he added.
That's one of the reasons Jeremy Freudberg gathered more than 10,000 signatures from people who want the ban to go away.
"Whether it's because they have a disability or they don't have a parking spot, some people with lesser means or they want to have overnight guests," he said. "This is not a neighborhood specific issue. This is a petition where we received signatures from all precincts of the city."
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Freudberg and Marcela Burke have agreed to disagree. Burke believes areas like Newtonville and Nonantum will end up with more issues.
"If you look, it's like the houses are very close to each other. It's just very crowded area," Burke said.
This is also concerning for Ward 2 Councilor-at-large Tarik Lucas.
"It's a policy change to allow for more cars in Newton and more cars means more traffic and harder to find a parking spot on a city street," Lucas said.
Especially at a time where there's a good amount of snowfall, but not enough to declare an emergency parking ban.
"That will definitely affect plows on streets," Lucas added.
Whether it's a yes or no on Nov. 4, both sides agree: something needs to change.
"If we were to repeal the ban without a better plan in place, that doesn't make much sense," Lucas continued.
"This current ordinance, it’s a crutch," Farrell said. "The city council needs to do its job. It needs to write a new ordinance now."
Both councilors say they're committed to creating a new ordinance that makes sense for all residents.