East Coast Snowstorms Cause 'Snow Wars' Parking

By Emily Markin

Following the recent snow and ice that have taken the East Coast by storm, residents of affected areas have begun digging out parking spots for themselves - until another person steals their spot. This has sparked disputes between residents and unleashed a new trend that has gone viral online: “Snow Wars.”

The term “Snow Wars” describes the widespread outrage regarding impolite drivers; multiple accounts have shared that after digging their vehicles out of the snow, parking pirates have been stealing shoveled-out spots. In retaliation, some people who shoveled the spots have been covering the “spot-thieves'” cars in snow, with some even pouring water over the snow to form an ice cast around the cars. 

People then turned to social media, specifically TikTok, to share their stories. Users shared videos of themselves covering other residents’ cars, video camera footage of their freshly shoveled spots being stolen by other people, and footage of people going door-to-door asking who covered their cars in snow. 

Additionally, people have begun using “spot-savers,” including chairs, cones, and buckets, to claim their spots and prevent other people from parking there and benefiting from their own hard work. However, as a result of the “Snow Wars” that have comically gone viral, real consequences have ensued.

In Philadelphia, two men engaged in a physical altercation over a parking spot, with one brandishing a knife and the other in possession of a handgun. Both men ended up putting their weapons down and continuing their fight physically, resulting in one man being left in critical condition. 

Regardless of the severity of the matter, the consensus seems to be split on who is in the wrong in these situations. Is one allowed to set their claim to their hollowed-out space in the snow, or does the right to use public parking trump the predecessors’ hard work? People have also taken to the internet to ask this question, sharing their personal experiences. 

In one instance, a perpetrator of parking piracy shared a post asking if she was in the wrong for doing a subpar job while shoveling her parking spot, and then choosing to park in her neighbor’s pristinely shoveled spot instead of her own when she returned home. She claimed that this action was justified because, though it was not the spot her neighbor had originally cleared, they still had a usable spot to park in. 

So, the question is still up in the air for many: should people be allowed to claim spots and reap the fruits of their labor, or should parking simply be a first-come, first-served situation? Furthermore, how far does one take a dispute over something as mundane as parking spots in these desperate times that call for desperate measures?