Parking chair

This practice is especially common in the Northeastern United States (for example, in Boston[3] and Pittsburgh[4]), as well as Philadelphia, and the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes regions (for example, in Chicago, where it is referred to as "dibs"[5][6][7][8]).

Generally, curbside parking spaces are public property and are available to vehicles on a first-come, first-served basis.

[11] 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.

[12][13] 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.

[14] 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.

[16][17] 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.

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".

[9] 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.

[29][30][31][32] On March 2, 2021, the Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation (DSS) began removing "Dibs" objects along with household trash.

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.

[36] An NPR investigation found that among 64 police reports for dibs-related vandalism after three big snowstorms, just one resulted in an arrest.

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.