Tonawanda, NY Parking Rules: Snow Removal Parking Rules (2026)

Section 205-20, Emergency no parking, gives the Town of Tonawanda authority separate from the fixed seasonal overnight ban in Section 205-19: the Town may prohibit parking on any street, avenue or property already referenced in Chapter 205, or any it references later, whenever an emergency or necessity arises, including when parked vehicles would interfere with snow or ice removal or with repairs to the street, or would endanger the public's use of that street, avenue or property. The section does not require advance published notice or a fixed effective period; instead, posting printed notices in the affected area is declared sufficient notice to the public, and all persons must comply once notices are posted.

This gives the Highway Department and Police the ability to clear a specific street or neighborhood for plowing on short notice, rather than waiting for the townwide 2:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. seasonal restriction in Section 205-19 to apply. The authority is not limited to winter: the section also covers repairs to the street or any condition that endangers public use, so it functions as a general emergency-closure tool. As with the rest of the parking article, Section 205-6 exempts Town-owned vehicles operated by officials or employees performing official duties, and Section 205-17 exempts stops made to avoid a traffic conflict or at a police officer's or traffic-control device's direction. Violations are prosecuted under Chapter 205's general penalty section, Section 205-5.