'They just puked everywhere': A lesson about snow and parking spaces in Boston

BOSTON – Bostonians can spend hours painstakingly shoveling out their vehicles from under mounds of snow, and it can be gut-wrenching to pull up after a long day only to find someone has swooped into that parking spot to take advantage of all that hard work.

Thus, the tradition of using everyday objects as a "space saver" was created.

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When a snow emergency is declared in Boston, main roads need to be cleared of all cars, so plows and emergency vehicles have room to traverse the snow-covered streets. Any vehicles that remain will be ticketed and towed.

Anyone living in or who has previously lived in Boston knows parking can be tricky.

Some parking garages offer discounts to residents that have neighborhood-specific parking stickers. And there are other options. Some parking lots at schools and businesses will allow residents to park until the snow stops falling.

But for people living in neighborhoods that aren't required to move their vehicles, their lives are a little easier.

Until it comes time to shovel themselves out.

It can take quite a while for Bostonians to clear all the snow from on top of and around their cars. And the process takes even longer when a snowplow rolls through, pushing it all back to where it came from.

But when the job is done, and it's possible to pull out of the space, you risk losing it to someone else.

To help, Boston has a rule that everyday objects like chairs, vacuums and trash cans can be used as "space savers" to claim the coveted space.

However, that rule only applies if a snow emergency is declared, and they're only allowed for 48 hours after the snow emergency ends. After that, you need to move it, or the city will remove it for you.

BOSTON, MA - FEBRUARY 10: A sign on a "space saver" in a shoveled out parking spot issues a warning on the day after a blizzard in Boston, Feb. 10, 2017. (Photo by David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

And anyone who dares move a "space saver" to steal the parking spot risks slashed tires, keyed cars, broken windows -- or worse.

After a snowstorm earlier this month, one unlucky resident awoke to find his Jeep destroyed, according to Boston 25 News.

That resident told reporter Jason Law that he thinks his vehicle was targeted for parking in a space that had been shoveled out earlier.

The following day, he said he found someone had shoveled snow inside the vehicle and had vomited all over the interior.

"It was absolutely destroyed," the resident told Law. "The inside. They just puked everywhere."

He told Boston 25 News there was no space saver in the parking spot or any other object indicating it had been claimed. He filed a report and the incident was investigated by the Boston Police Department.

So whether a resident agrees with the use of "space savers," most residents follow the rules -- just to be on the safe side.