Frederick, MD Parking Rules: Snow Removal Parking Rules (2026)

Frederick's snow emergency scheme runs across three sections of Chapter 13. Sec. 13-17 lets the mayor declare a 'snow emergency' whenever accumulated snow and ice on city streets may impede or prevent emergency service vehicles, ambulances, fire apparatus, or police vehicles from getting through, and requires the mayor to give whatever notice of the declaration he deems proper. Once that declaration is made, Sec. 13-18 authorizes the chief of police to issue temporary emergency regulations to regulate or prohibit the parking of vehicles and the direction of traffic on any city street for the duration of the emergency, again with notice as the chief deems proper; during the emergency, no owner or driver may cause a vehicle to be parked or driven contrary to those regulations.

Sec. 13-19 backs the parking rules with a towing power: it authorizes the police department to take possession of and remove any parked vehicle, or any vehicle abandoned so as to obstruct traffic, on streets designated as snow emergency routes while the emergency is in effect. An owner may recover a towed vehicle only after paying the charges incurred for its removal and storage. Because the temporary rules are set by the chief of police rather than fixed in the code, the specific streets, hours, and side-of-street restrictions in force during any given emergency depend on the regulations the chief issues for that event.