How to avoid getting towed

Chicago’s winter overnight parking ban kicked in on Dec. 1, prohibiting parking on 107 miles of main streets from 3 to 7 a.m., regardless of snow, until April 1. (Network Video Productions) (Network Video Productions/Chicago Tribune)

It’s the time of year when you need to think twice about claiming that open spot on the street.

The city’s winter overnight parking ban begins at 3 a.m. on Dec. 1. Parking is prohibited on 107 miles of main streets from 3 a.m. to 7 a.m. — regardless of snow — until April 1, 2023. Another 500 miles of streets prohibit parking after two inches of snow or more falls, no matter the time of day or the date.

Two hundred forty two cars were towed on the first day of the ban in 2022 — up from 200 towed on the same date in 2021.

[ Chicago’s 10 largest snowfalls since 1886 — and how the Tribune covered them ]

Cars left parked on the designated streets hinder snowplowing and salting services. Snow can build up next to parked cars on…