Above: Reminding the Southborough community that there is a place for safe exchanges based on internet transactions, plus wintertime parking restrictions to allow salting and plowing of roads when needed. (images l-r from SPD Facebook and photo by Susan Fitzgerald)
I’m sharing a couple of important seasonal reminders that the Southborough Police posted on Facebook over the past week.
Safe Internet Exchange Zone
For those who missed the news of a shooting in Canton on Monday night, police reported to the public that it took place during a meetup to complete an online merchandise transaction. Following that news, the Southborough Police issued a reminder that our town has an Internet Exchange Zone in the public safety parking lot.
The marked parking area has 24 hour video surveillance. When a zone was originally established 10 years ago in the old police station parking lot, a press release explained:
Our goal is to reduce the chance of being the victim of a criminal act involving an internet sales transaction on popular sites such as Craigslist or Online Yard Sale.
The Police Station is open 24 hours a day, every single day of the year. The lot is well lighted and monitored through video surveillance with one dedicated entrance/exit route. Officers will only intervene if the transaction becomes disorderly or becomes a criminal matter. The public can check in at the dispatch desk if needed.
After the new location was established in the public safety building parking lot in 2019, an SPD announcement included an additional offered option, that the public could also conduct their exchange in the building lobby.
If you don’t see an empty parking space with the sign, don’t worry. The announcement noted that the monitored area for the exchange covers any open marked space in the front parking lot at 32 Cordaville Road.
Winter Parking Ban
Every year, the Town disallows parking on streets past midnight December 1st to March 15th, or during snow events. This year’s ban was approved by the Select Board in November. Last week, the SPD posted a reminder of the rules:
Effective December 1, 2025 there will be no parking on any public way in the Town of Southborough from 12 midnight until 6:00 a.m. and furthermore, there will be no parking on any public way during any snowstorm in the Town of Southborough. Vehicles parked will be towed at the owner’s expense (according to §152-6 of the Town’s Code). This Ban will be in effect from December 1, 2025 through March 15, 2026.
Illegal parking during unusual storms occurring before or after the Ban will be dealt with according to Section 152-6 of the Code of the Town of Southborough which states:
“The Superintendent of Streets, or other officer having charge of the ways, shall be authorized, for the purpose of removing or plowing snow or of removing ice from any way, to remove or cause to be removed to some convenient place, including in such term any public garage, any vehicle interfering with such work, and the liability for the cost of such removal and the storage charges, if any, resulting therefrom shall be upon the owner of such vehicle”.
