MIT parking regulations and enforcement

Parking regulations
Traffic violations and penalties
Towing
Snow emergency

MIT parking regulations

• The speed limit on campus is 15 miles per hour.
• The speed limit in parking facilities is 5 miles per hour.
• Parking is allowed in car stalls designated by painted lines.
• "All Lots" parking account holders are not allowed to park in signed Reserved Spaces.
• Any area marked no parking, loading zone, reserved, residential, etc., is enforced as such 24 hours a day unless otherwise stated.
• Vehicles unclaimed for 30 days may be disposed of at the expense of the owner.

[to top]

MIT traffic violations and penalties

The following violations will be ticketed:

• Parking over time limit for zone
• No permit for this area (if two cars registered to a single parking account are parked on campus, this violation applies)
• Failure to notify MIT Parking & Transportation Office of account updates, including license plate change or new vehicle for current MIT parking assignment
• Parking in area not marked for parking
• Blocking roadway, driveway entrance, or crosswalk
• Parking in a no parking zone
• Parking or driving on sidewalk or lawn
• Blocking fire lane or hydrant
• Parking in reserved space
• Blocking loading zone or dumpster
• Parking in area reserved for disability plates and placards
• Blocking wheelchair ramp
• Driving to endanger
• Speeding

Even if a vehicle is driven by another party, the faculty member, staff member, or student who registered and holds the parking account associated with the vehicle is responsible for any and all violations.

Any person with four or more parking violations may be towed (at his/her own expense) and/or may lose parking privileges at MIT.

[to top]

Towing

Your car might get towed (at your expense) under certain circumstances. Please note that MIT is not responsible for any damage caused by an independent towing contractor. Towing circumstances include:

• A vehicle with four or more ticketed parking violations parked on MIT property. (The fourth ticket issued will include notice that a fifth violation will result in the vehicle being towed.)
• Any vehicle parked improperly or without a parking account. Institute parking areas are continuously monitored by MIT Police and the MIT Parking & Transportation Office.
• Any vehicle parked at any time in a location which endangers life or property or hampers the movement of emergency vehicles or other traffic flow (such as fire lanes).
• Any parked vehicle that impedes the movement of delivery trucks.
• Any vehicle parked on the sidewalk or blocking a trash compactor or dumpster.
• Any vehicle that blocks Cambridge street cleaning.
• Any vehicle without a valid license plate and current registration sticker parked at any time on MIT property without permission granted by the Parking & Transportation Office.
• Any vehicle that doesn’t have extended parking permission and is parked for more than four consecutive days without being moved.

[to top]

Snow emergency

During snow emergencies, MIT requests that all cars be moved out of outdoor parking lots so that those lots may be plowed.

• On-campus residents who normally park in outdoor lots should move their cars to an indoor space in one of these garages, whichever is closest: Albany Street Garage, East Garage (Sloan, Building E62), or NW86 Garage (Sidney Pacific).
• Any vehicle parked in an outdoor MIT lot during a snow emergency may be subject to towing at the owner's expense.
• During a Cambridge snow emergency, parking will be prohibited on designated emergency arteries. Many streets in the MIT area are part of an emergency artery, as indicated on permanent street signs. If you are parked during a snow emergency on a street where parking is temporarily prohibited, you may be towed by the City of Cambridge.

Please refrain from leaving your car in an outdoor MIT parking lot for the duration or aftermath of a snowstorm. MIT parking lots may not be used as an alternative to street parking during a snow event.

Information concerning snow emergencies may be obtained by visiting MIT’s Emergency Information page or calling 617-253-SNOW. If you have questions about parking during a snow emergency, call the Department of Facilities Customer Service Center at 617-253-4948.

[to top]