After any major snowstorm, when it comes time to dig out from the snow, there is often another battle taking place on Boston's streets — the war over parking spaces.

Enter: space savers.

It's a city tradition, in which people use anything from household furniture to peculiar objects and signs to claim a parking spot they've shoveled out. The longstanding practice has its own rules — formal and informal. Here's what you need to know about space savers in Boston:

1. The City Has A Policy

Following Tuesday's massive blizzard, Boston's parking ban was lifted at 5 p.m. Wednesday. So from then you have 48 hours to use space savers, according to the city's parking regulations. It's a policy that was implemented by Mayor Menino.

At a Tuesday press conference, Mayor Marty Walsh made it clear that he believes if you shovel out a parking space, it's yours to keep for a little while.



Mayor Walsh says if you spend 10 hours shoveling out your parking space, its yours for a couple days. #blizzardof2015 — WBUR (@WBUR) January 27, 2015

But, if you live in the South End, you may not be able to get away with the practice...

2. Space Savers Aren't Welcomed Everywhere In Boston

Earlier this month, the South End became the first neighborhood in the city to formally ban the practice, The Boston Globe reported.

Last winter, the South End Forum — whose member organizations voted unanimously for the ban — launched its own pilot program to rid the streets of space savers. When there were no complaints, according to [Stephen Fox, who cochairs the South End Forum], they took the idea to the city, which agreed to the neighborhood-wide ban.

The ban is part of a pilot program implemented this winter, according to the mayor's office.

"Our primary focus right now is on snow removal and opening up access on our streets, and then we can assist on space savers," Walsh spokeswoman Melina Schuler said in an email. "We are asking South End neighbors to be mindful of the new policy there, and remind their neighbors if necessary."

The ban on space savers isn't just limited to the South End. Just across the river in Cambridge, the practice is also banned. Cambridge police said they would confiscate any space savers used after Tuesday's storm.