The Odd/Even Parking rules in Ithaca are in effect from Nov 1 – April 1 each year. Streets are plowed in the late night / early morning so the streets are clear for daytime traffic. The goal is to have one side of the street empty (with no cars parked on that side) at night so it can be plowed, and then the other side of the street will be free of cars the next night so that side can be plowed as well. 

Here are some frequently asked questions about odd/even parking in Ithaca: 

What time of day does odd/even parking get enforced?

Odd/Even parking is enforced from 7pm – 6am

Does odd/even parking get enforced even when it does not snow? 

In Ithaca, odd/even parking is only enforced when the city needs to plow snow. 

Is there a way I can get notified of when odd/even parking is enforced? 

Yes. Sign up to receive Swift911 text updates about odd/even parking and other kinds of updates you are interested in here: http://www.cityofithaca.org/617/Emergency-Notification

Which side do I park on at night when it is snowing or going to snow? 

Park on the even side of the street on the even day and the odd side of the street on odd days. If you park sometime midnight-6am, use the date from the day before to figure out which side. 

How do I know which side of the street is odd and which is even? 

Look at the house numbers to see what side of the street is odd and what side is even. 

Do I have to move my car at midnight when it snows so I don’t get a ticket? 

Nope. That would be silly! If you park after midnight, use https://www.whichsidetopark.info/ to figure out which side of the street to park on. (When it does not snow and there is not snow in the immediate forecast, this website says “parking rules are currently suspended”.) 

What if there are two odd numbered days in a row and it keeps snowing? Like December 31st and then January 1st? Or February 29th on a leap year? 

If it’s the 31st of December, the next day will be January 1 so you want to stay parked on the same side of the street. There is a 24 hour parking law for most streets in the city of Ithaca, so you’ll still want to move your car every 24 hours. 

Again, this is not enforced during business hours. You just want to think about where your car is parked 7pm-6am. 

Which side of the street do I park on when it snows if my street only has parking spaces on one side? 

In most cases, if you live on a street with parking on just one side of the street you will need to move your car to a nearby street that has parking spaces on both sides or has parking on the correct side based on the date and house numbers (ex: the side with house number 202 after 7pm on January 2nd). 

Tip: Sometime when you are not in a hurry, walk around your neighborhood to figure out the best places to park when you cannot park on your street. 

If you always park in a parking spot that is not on the street, you don’t need to think about this! 

The city of Ithaca has more info about odd/even parking posted here:

http://www.cityofithaca.org/faq.aspx?qid=126 

https://www.cityofithaca.org/727/Parking-Regulations-Violations