LEWISTON — A plan to ease winter parking downtown cleared its first hurdle Tuesday night.

Councilors voted 6-0 to adopt a a storm-by-storm emergency ban on parking, letting downtown residents park cars in front of their buildings when the weather is clear.

Cars left on the streets and blocking city plows during winter storms could be ticketed and towed under the proposed plan.

Lewiston currently bans overnight parking downtown from Dec. 1 through the end of March. Downtown residents must find an alternative place to keep their cars overnight during the winter months.

Portland and Auburn have similar emergency parking ban policies. In Portland, cars towed to make way for snowplows are taken to a central, city-controlled lot. In Auburn, the tow trucks take them to their own lots.

Tuesday’s vote would let tow truck drivers use their own lots to store towed cars. Residents who have had their cars towed would have to go to the police station to find out where their cars were taken.

Public Works Director Dave Jones said the policy would mean snowplowing delays.

“We do have concerns with the wintertime snow removal and we know we will find additional cars parked on the streets during snow bans,” he said. “This takes time for Public Works and the police. It slows the operation and adds to the amount of time it takes to plow the streets and make them safe for people to travel throughout the city.”

Councilors will take up the matter for a second reading at their next meeting, scheduled for Sept. 4.

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