Mayor Marty Walsh and the Boston Transportation Department announced several updates to parking enforcement policies in the city, including one change designed to better serve those picking up or delivering food from local restaurants.

“We understand transportation is a need and concern for residents and medical professionals, and these updated policies will help everyone during this ongoing public health crisis,” Walsh said in a statement.

Here are the updates in effect during the coronavirus public health emergency:

Pick-up/drop-off zones for small businesses:

The city is creating temporary zones in front of restaurants that have transitioned into pick-up and delivery only. These zones, which promote social distancing, limit parking to five minutes for the benefit of those picking up or delivering food.


Restaurants can request a zone through the city’s website.

Resident parking additions:

Residents with valid resident permit stickers are allowed to park in that neighborhood’s metered or two-hour parking spaces without paying a meter fee or being subject to time limits.

Cars without a sticker must follow standard time limit and meter requirements.

Street cleaning:

The city said it has not been ticketing and towing for street cleaning due to “the challenges to finding alternative places to park in neighborhoods,” according to the mayor’s office.

Inspection stickers and registration:

The city also announced it will not ticket for expired inspection stickers or registrations because of the current challenges to renewing inspections and registrations.

Parking garages for medical personnel:

The city has identified facilities offering free, reduced, or reserved parking for medical professionals. A list of participating facilities can be found here.

Medical staff need to present hospital identification in order to receive the discount.

BlueBikes for hospital staff:

Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Everett, and Somerville are offering all hospital staff a free 30-day pass for Bluebikes, the public bike-share service. More information about how to sign up for the program is available here.

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