parking chair

In snowstorms, vehicle owners with such a need mark the space as their own that their vehicle previously occupied after digging out the heavy snow that covered the vehicle and blocked them in. A such way to indicate that the parking spot is reserved is to place a lawn chair often referred as a "Parking Chair" to indicate others of the reserved spot for the owner that will soon return.{{cite web|url=http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0210/704216.html|title=Snow Further Limits D.C. Parking | ABC 7 News |publisher=Wjla.com |date=February 8, 2010 |access-date=December 25, 2010}}{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} The legality and level of enforcement of existing laws pertaining to this practice varies by location. Generally, curbside parking spaces are public property and are available to vehicles on a first-come, first-served basis. Still, respecting these makeshift markers has been accepted by citizens as a common courtesy during snowstorms.{{cite web |url=http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/22514683/detail.html |title=Yinzer Justice Swift For Disrespecting Parking Chairs - WTAE Pittsburgh |publisher=Thepittsburghchannel.com |date=February 9, 2010 |access-date=December 25, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100419124232/http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/22514683/detail.html |archive-date=April 19, 2010 |df=mdy-all }}

File:Parking chair (3910249830).jpg

While use is year-round, it is a particularly time-honored tradition in heavy snowfall accumulation, when a resident who "digs out" their spot on the street essentially declares ownership, which often goes unchallenged by neighbors for fear of retribution.{{cite web |url=http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/weather/22514683/detail.html |title=Yinzer Justice Swift For Disrespecting Parking Chairs - Pittsburgh Weather News Story - WTAE Pittsburgh |publisher=Thepittsburghchannel.com |date=February 9, 2010 |access-date=December 25, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100420020041/http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/weather/22514683/detail.html |archive-date=April 20, 2010 |df=mdy-all }}{{cite news| url=http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10041/1034666-51.stm | work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | title=Pittsburgh residents are using chairs, different items to stake out parking spots | first=Kevin | last=Kirkland | date=February 10, 2010}}

The idea of the practice is that the person reserves the space from which they have freed their vehicle for future parking during the remainder of the storm and as long as snow remains on the ground.{{cite book|title=Economics of property law|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ovLnm-xyn5YC&dq=snow+parking+chairs&pg=PA243 |year=2007|publisher=Edward Elgar|location=Cheltenham, UK|isbn=978-1-84720-114-0|editor=Richard A. Epstein|page=243}} It is generally a Lockean recognition that the effort of the physical exertion of digging provides an entitlement to the space where the vehicle was previously located.{{cite news|last=Lindsay|first=Jay|title=City cracks down on Boston tradition of reservation parking|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZUcuAAAAIBAJ&sjid=T9AEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5250,6721098&dq=snow+parking+chairs&hl=en|access-date=December 26, 2011|newspaper=Spartanburg Herald-Journal|date=Dec 31, 2004|location=Boston|page=A8}} But in some instances, spaces get reserved in this fashion even before a snowstorm starts.{{cite news |url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2010/02/saving_spaces_e_1.html? |work=The Boston Globe |title=Saving spaces, even before the storm hits |first=Peter |last=Schworm |date=February 10, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100213174021/http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2010/02/saving_spaces_e_1.html |archive-date=February 13, 2010 |df=mdy-all }}{{cite web|last=Polaneczky |first=Ronnie |url=http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/83865287.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605200030/http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/83865287.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 5, 2011 |title=City officials brace for more snow | The Philadelphia Inquirer | 02/09/2010 |access-date=September 15, 2016}}

The practice is common throughout areas of the United States susceptible to large amounts of snow and where curbside parking on residential streets is the norm, especially in the Northeast.{{cite book|title=Legality and community: on the intellectual legacy of Philip Selznick|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HwIVBamWQIwC&dq=snow+parking+chairs&pg=PA153|year=2002|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|location=Lanham, MD|isbn=0-7425-1625-3|edition=illustrated|author1=Philip Selznick |author2=Martin Krygier |author3=Kenneth I. Winston |editor=Robert A. Kagan|access-date=December 26, 2011|page=153}}

The items used have sometimes been referred to as the Pittsburgh Parking Chair, due to their common use in Pittsburgh and its nearby suburbs. Pittsburgh is a very hilly area, with houses very close together, and many older neighborhoods predate cars, having narrow streets with no driveways to park in and parking on only one side of the street. While such ad hoc parking restrictions have no legal standing in the city of Pittsburgh, common and long standing community tradition supports their use. As the "parking chair" is part of the culture of the city, local police generally turn a blind eye to these impromptu markers, which under legal jurisdiction, technically qualify as "abandoned furniture".[http://www.wpxi.com/news/22503635/detail.html Homeowners Protect Parking Spots With Chairs; Can They Do This?, WPXI Pittsburgh, February 8, 2010] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100212045643/http://www.wpxi.com/news/22503635/detail.html |date=February 12, 2010 }}{{cite news| last =Kirkland| first =Kevin | title =Pittsburgh residents are using chairs, different items to stake out parking spots| website = Pittsburgh Post-Gazette| date =February 10, 2010| url =http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10041/1034666-51.stm| access-date = February 10, 2010 }}

Photographic evidence of the tradition has been found dating back at least to the 1950s. It is believed that the practice existed earlier, as the number of vehicles on residential streets has exceeded the number of available spaces.{{cite news|last=Kirkland|first=Kevin|title=Pittsburgh residents are using chairs, different items to stake out parking spot|url=http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10041/1034666-51.stm|access-date=December 26, 2011|newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|date=February 10, 2010}}

The origin of this practice may be outside the United States, as it is also a common practice in southern Italy.

The practice has been outlawed in some places, including the city of Washington, D.C., where enforcement is strict and violators are ticketed.{{cite web|url=http://www.wtop.com/?nid=25&sid=1846935 |title=It's a no-no to mark your parking space after shoveling |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611205352/http://www.wtop.com/?nid=25&sid=1846935 | archive-date=June 11, 2011|publisher=wtop.com |date=December 22, 2009 |access-date=December 25, 2010}} Some places specifically prohibit the practice, with levels of enforcement that vary. Sanctions against violators may include fines and confiscation of the markers. Other places either do not enforce or make legal allowances for this activity.

In Baltimore, after the 2010 blizzards on February 5–6 and February 9–10, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake announced that the city would not enforce an existing ban on the practice. She said that it could not be stopped, saying that it was a local tradition and that it would be "like telling people they can't say 'Hon'".{{cite web|url=http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2010/02/10/Mayor-wont-enforce-spot-saving-ban/UPI-61241265829674/ |title=Mayor won't enforce spot-saving ban |publisher=UPI.com |date=February 10, 2010 |access-date=December 25, 2010}}

Some places, including Pittsburgh, do not place legal sanctions against those engaging in the practice, but make clear that anyone has the right to claim an informal space that was reserved by someone else for their own vehicle, regardless of courtesy. However, it is a general practice around the city to respect the markers of others.{{cite web|url=http://www.wpxi.com/news/22503635/detail.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100212045643/http://www.wpxi.com/news/22503635/detail.html |archive-date=February 12, 2010 |title=Homeowners Protect Parking Spots With Chairs; Can They Do This? |publisher=Wpxi.com |date=February 8, 2010 |access-date=December 25, 2010}} In 1994, Police in Dormont, a suburb of Pittsburgh, confiscated the markers from 200 spaces due to excessive complaints. Pittsburgh retailers sell novelty "Official Parking Chairs".{{cite news | last =O'Neill | first =Brian | title =Traditional practice of using parking chairs raises new reservations | newspaper =Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | date =December 8, 2013 | url =http://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/brian-oneill/2013/12/08/Traditional-practice-of-using-parking-chairs-raises-new-reservations/stories/201312080078 | access-date = December 9, 2013}}

In Boston, the law prohibits residents from saving the spaces they clear for longer than 48 hours from the moment a snow emergency is declared to be over.{{cite news| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A39654-2004Dec31.html | newspaper=The Washington Post | title=Boston Fights Winter Parking Tradition | first=Jonathan | last=Finer | date=January 1, 2005 | access-date=May 21, 2010}} However, they are outright banned in certain neighborhoods of the city, such as the South End.[https://www.boston.gov/departments/311/what-do-your-car-when-it-snows What to do with your car when it snows], boston.gov. Retrieved June 7, 2017.

In Aldan, Pennsylvania, the police chief confiscated all markers that were placed following the blizzards of 2010. He stated that he was enforcing a local ordinance in doing so.{{cite web |author=Paul Luce |url=http://www.delcotimes.com/articles/2010/02/10/news/doc4b7229143a1f0770718568.txt |title=Aldan police making sure you don't reserve your shoveled parking spot |publisher=delcotimes.com |access-date=December 25, 2010 |archive-date=March 1, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120301040506/http://www.delcotimes.com/articles/2010/02/10/news/doc4b7229143a1f0770718568.txt |url-status=dead }}

In Chicago, the "dibs" practice is illegal under §10-28-070.{{Cite web |title=10-28-070 Storage of goods on public ways. |url=https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/chicago/latest/chicago_il/0-0-0-2651647 |access-date=2024-12-22 |website=American Legal Publishing |language=en-US}} Though dibs incidents are traditionally unenforced in Chicago, there are notable police report rates for vandalism incidents involving saved parking spaces.[https://web.archive.org/web/20200306023429/https://www.npr.org/local/309/2020/03/02/811209907/chicago-s-dibs-tradition-can-get-dirty-and-even-dangerous][https://www.npr.org/local/309/2020/03/02/811209907/chicago-s-dibs-tradition-can-get-dirty-and-even-dangerous "Chicago's 'Dibs' Tradition Can Get Dirty, And Even Dangerous", by Monica Eng], NPR, March 2, 2021. Retrieved March 7, 2021. On March 2, 2021, the Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation (DSS) began removing "Dibs" objects along with household trash.[https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/chicago-to-start-removing-dibs-objects-from-city-streets-tuesday/2450662/ "Chicago to Start Removing 'Dibs' Objects From City Streets Tuesday"], NBC, March 1, 2021. Retrieved March 7, 2021. WBEZ, Chicago's local NPR station, created a sign for residents to post that cites the Chicago statute prohibiting dibs.{{Cite web |title=To Dibs Or Not To Dibs? The Essential Chicago Question |url=https://www.wbez.org/curious-city/2019/12/14/to-dibs-or-not-to-dibs-the-essential-chicago-question |access-date=2024-12-22 |website=WBEZ |language=en}}

Most dense residential urban streets do not have enough parking spaces to accommodate the number of drivers who desire them. When residents use parking chairs to claim spaces, they reduce the parking available to other drivers, by removing the efficiency that first-come, first-served public parking normally provides.{{cite web|url=http://www.philly.com/philly/news/homepage/20100217_Parking-space_etiquette__Chair-ish_is_the_word.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100223063632/http://www.philly.com/philly/news/homepage/20100217_Parking-space_etiquette__Chair-ish_is_the_word.html|title=Parking-space etiquette: Chair-ish is the word|archive-date=February 23, 2010|work=philly.com|date=February 17, 2010 }} Furthermore, guest and work vehicles are discouraged from using available spaces when needed out of fear of retribution. Many citizens cite that despite the existing law prohibiting space savers' use after 48 hours after a declared snow emergency, residents still use them without penalty.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}} This means that public property is being illegally claimed by an individual for their own private use.

In Chicago, people who call "dibs" on a parking spot have been reported for vandalizing vehicles parked where they called "dibs".{{cite news |date=12 February 2021 |title=Car Window Smashed With 'Dibs' Chair on North Side |url=https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/car-window-smashed-with-dibs-chair-on-north-side/2437302/ |access-date=22 December 2024 |publisher=NBC Chicago}}{{Cite web |date=2020-03-06 |title=Chicago's 'Dibs' Tradition Can Get Dirty, And Even Dangerous : NPR |website=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/local/309/2020/03/02/811209907/chicago-s-dibs-tradition-can-get-dirty-and-even-dangerous |access-date=2024-12-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200306023429/https://www.npr.org/local/309/2020/03/02/811209907/chicago-s-dibs-tradition-can-get-dirty-and-even-dangerous |archive-date=March 6, 2020 }}{{Cite web |title=Curious-City - Chicago's 'Dibs' Tradition Can Get Dirty, And Even Dangerous - via Poor Stuart's Guide |url=https://www.poorstuart.com/podcast-episode/Curious-City/Chicago%C3%A2%C2%80%C2%99s-%C3%A2%C2%80%C2%98Dibs%C3%A2%C2%80%C2%99-Tradition-Can-Get-Dirty-And/370339/ |access-date=2024-12-22 |website=Poor Stuart's Guide |language=en-US}} The most common form of retaliation is slashed tires, followed by broken car windows, cars keyed or dented, and broken mirrors. Other forms of documented retaliation include broken windshields, spray painting the car, and severing the car's brake line.{{Cite web |date=2020-03-06 |title=Chicago's 'Dibs' Tradition Can Get Dirty, And Even Dangerous : NPR |website=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/local/309/2020/03/02/811209907/chicago-s-dibs-tradition-can-get-dirty-and-even-dangerous |access-date=2024-12-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200306023429/https://www.npr.org/local/309/2020/03/02/811209907/chicago-s-dibs-tradition-can-get-dirty-and-even-dangerous |archive-date=March 6, 2020 }} An NPR investigation found that among 64 police reports for dibs-related vandalism after three big snowstorms, just one resulted in an arrest. {{Cite web |date=2020-03-06 |title=Chicago's 'Dibs' Tradition Can Get Dirty, And Even Dangerous : NPR |website=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/local/309/2020/03/02/811209907/chicago-s-dibs-tradition-can-get-dirty-and-even-dangerous |access-date=2024-12-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200306023429/https://www.npr.org/local/309/2020/03/02/811209907/chicago-s-dibs-tradition-can-get-dirty-and-even-dangerous |archive-date=March 6, 2020 }}

Victims often say a parking chair was not in the spot at the time they parked, or that they were unaware of Chicago's "dibs" practices.{{Cite web |title=Chicago's 'Dibs' Tradition Can Get Dirty, And Even Dangerous |url=https://www.wbez.org/curious-city/2020/02/29/chicago-dibs-damage |access-date=2024-12-22 |website=WBEZ |language=en}} Sometimes the vandalism takes place when the victim parked for just a few minutes. For example, one police report states, “Victim related that he parked his vehicle down the street from Acero Elementary to get his child into school. He moved some boxes that someone had put there after shoveling out a parking space. Victim stated that he had every intention of putting them back after dropping off his child. Unknown offender had spray painted the door handles and rear license plate.”{{Cite web |title=Chicago's 'Dibs' Tradition Can Get Dirty, And Even Dangerous |url=https://www.wbez.org/curious-city/2020/02/29/chicago-dibs-damage |access-date=2024-12-22 |website=WBEZ |language=en}}

Even in cities where parking chairs are generally tolerated, such as Pittsburgh, local police make it clear that public street parking cannot legally be reserved. Citizens are explicitly discouraged from using objects to block parking spaces. Because parking chairs are considered abandoned furniture, they may be removed at any time.{{cite web |url=http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_666393.html |title='Parking chairs' pop up even more - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review |publisher=Pittsburghlive.com |date=February 10, 2010 |access-date=December 25, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100212120525/http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_666393.html |archive-date=February 12, 2010 |df=mdy-all }} It is common for municipalities to forcibly remove the offending objects from time to time.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

{{Commons category|Parking chairs}}

• Snow emergency
• Snow removal

{{reflist}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20110212000700/http://ography.org/parkingchairs/ Gallery of Pittsburgh Parking Chairs]
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2L4iHKAqYSE Pittsburgh Dad on the Parking Chair]
• [http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/sectionfront/life/pittsburgh-residents-are-using-chairs-different-items-to-stake-out-parking-spots-232987/ 2010 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article on the Parking Chair]
• [http://www.boston.com/cars/news-and-reviews/2015/01/22/boston-space-saving-tradition-explained/DVrAKS9BJGBk3QCHgx12FK/story.html Boston's Space-Saving Tradition Explained]
• [https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-dibs-chicago-parking-photos-photogallery.html Chicago Tribune's article "The Best of Dibs in Chicago"]

{{traffic law}}

Category:Culture of Pittsburgh

Category:Chairs

Category:Inclement weather management

Category:Parking

Category:Parking law

Category:Street furniture

Category:Snow in the United States