Snow plowing in Lynn and Nahant, MA: reserve your season pass

Plowing a driveway in Lynn and Nahant

Lynn

Lynn sits on the coast, about 10 miles northeast of Boston, with a long shoreline and a big wooded reservation, Lynn Woods, in the northwest. Houses range from older two- and three-family homes close to downtown to single-family streets in the Highlands and near Wyoma Square. Drive length and width change a lot from one block to the next.

The snow emergency rule is simple and strict. When a snow emergency is declared, no vehicle may park on a public street or sidewalk. The city tells residents to move to designated lots, and cars left on the street can be ticketed and towed. A tow plus ticket costs far more than a plowed drive. Once streets are empty, the city plows curb to curb, and that leaves a bank across the end of your drive.

City plows have to pile snow somewhere, and much of it ends up at the apron. The best time to clear the end of a drive is after the city plow has made its last pass, not before. If you have a car in a city lot, you have until the hours the city set after the ban lifts to move it, so plan to be back home to dig out. Because the city page does not give a sidewalk deadline, check with the city for the rule that applies to your address. Lynn Woods and the hills toward the Highlands also mean some drives slope toward the street, which can send meltwater across the apron and freeze there overnight.

Nahant

Nahant is a small, mostly residential peninsula, the smallest town in Massachusetts by area. It is reached by one causeway, Nahant Road, from Lynn. Most homes sit on the west side between Black Rock Point and Bass Point, where lots are tight and many drives are short.

The town has an overnight winter ban from 12AM to 6AM, December 21 to March 20, and cars on the street or sidewalks can be ticketed and towed. Residents without off-street parking can apply to the Police for a winter sticker, but even sticker holders must be off the street when it snows or a snow emergency is declared. A car left on the street in a storm is fined $50 and towed. As a result, many cars are in drives overnight, and a plow pass has to work around them.

We could not find a town rule on sidewalk shoveling. A 2021 Town Meeting article to require owners to clear sidewalks was voted down, so check with the town before relying on any deadline. Because the town is a single peninsula, plows and tow trucks all use the same few roads, and the plow bank at the end of each drive can be heavy after a coastal storm. A season plowing plan lets you get out without clearing it by hand before work. Check the Police page before winter if you need a sticker, since the application takes review by three town departments.