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.[9] 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.[10]

Parking chair placed prior to a snowstorm.

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.[11][12]

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.[13] 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.[14] But in some instances, spaces get reserved in this fashion even before a snowstorm starts.[15][16]

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.[17]

The items used have sometimes been referred to as the Pittsburgh Parking Chair, due to their common use in Pittsburgh and its nearby suburbs.[18] 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".[19][20]

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.[18] 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.[21] 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, just like "people saying Hon" could not be stopped.[22]

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.[23] In 1994, Police in Dormont, a suburb of Pittsburgh, confiscated the markers from 200 spaces due to excessive complaints.[12] Pittsburgh retailers sell novelty "Official Parking Chairs".[8]

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.[24] However, they are outright banned in certain neighborhoods of the city, such as the South End.[25]

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.[26]

Though traditionally tolerated, the "dibs" practice is not legal in Chicago, where the Police Department has reported notable incident rates involving saved parking spaces.[27] On March 2, 2021, the Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation (DSS) began removing "Dibs" objects along with household trash.[28]

Most dense residential urban streets have fewer parking spaces than residents owning vehicles. Despite this, it is rare that all residents require a parking space at the same time. When residents use parking chairs or other markers to claim spaces, they effectively reduce the parking available to everyone, by removing the efficiency that first-come, first-served public parking normally provides.[29] 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. This means that public property is being illegally claimed by an individual for their own private use.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Parking chairs.

• Snow emergency
• Snow removal

• Gallery of Pittsburgh Parking Chairs
• Pittsburgh Dad on the Parking Chair
• 2010 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article on the Parking Chair
• Boston's Space-Saving Tradition Explained
• Chicago Tribune's article "The Best of Dibs in Chicago"