Somerville, MA Parking Rules: Street Parking Limits (2026)

Article V, Section 5-1 of the Traffic Commission Regulations lists the places a vehicle may never stand or park on a Somerville street, way, highway, road, or parkway under city control, unless avoiding a traffic conflict or following a police officer's direction. Subsection (i) bars parking in front of any driveway, including two feet in either direction from the driveway. Subsection (e) requires that on any roadway where parking is permitted, both wheels on the right side of the vehicle sit within 12 inches of the curb or roadway edge; on a designated one-way street, the vehicle must additionally point in the direction of travel with both wheels within that same 12 inches, which is the ordinance's wrong-way parking rule.

Other subsections of 5-1 bar parking within an intersection, on a sidewalk, within 20 feet of a marked crosswalk, within 10 feet of a fire hydrant, within 20 feet of an intersecting way, within 15 feet of a fire station wall, alongside a street excavation that would obstruct traffic, and on a bridge or its approach. Subsection (g) forbids parking that fails to leave a clear 12-foot lane for passing traffic. The Traffic Director enforces posted no-parking and street-cleaning signs under subsections (q) and (r), and the Traffic Commission designates diagonal-parking streets under Section 5-3 and permit-only blocks under Section 5-6, referencing Schedules D and E appended to the regulations.