Castine tightens parking ban and ticketing during snowstorms

Select board also finalizing draft request for proposals for daycare operations

Feb. 4, 2026

By Emily Baer

Cars could be ticketed every two hours in Castine under the town’s tightened parking rules. Photo by Unsplash.

CASTINE—The Castine select board approved on Feb. 2 a series of updates to the town’s parking ordinance, tightening winter parking rules and adjusting enforcement in an effort to improve snow removal and increase parking turnover.

The board also advanced plans for a new snow plowing contract, discussed next steps for a new daycare at the Round School, endorsed a state-level climate funding initiative, and announced upcoming public forums and budget work sessions.

Parking restrictions

The selectedboard voted to amend the town parking ordinance to clarify that no seasonal winter parking is allowed on town streets or in town parking lots during snow events and related clean-up operations, except for 15 designated overnight spaces in the center rows of the town dock.

On Pleasant Street, a new restriction limits 24-hour parking to the west side of the street between Court Street and Battle Avenue, with any vehicle not moved within 24 hours considered a violation.

“These changes actually came from conversations I had with [Maine Maritime Academy} students,” said town manager Derik Goodine. “So, I want to try to get that turn over at least every 24 hours. That’s the idea.”

Additional changes clarify winter parking rules, including stricter enforcement during snow events. Overnight parking is prohibited between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. on town streets and parking lots, and between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. at the town dock, again with an exception of the 15 designated overnight dock spaces. Vehicles will not be allowed to be parked on or within four feet of paved surfaces during posted bans. Vehicles that impede snow removal can be ticketed repeatedly every two hours and are subject to towing. Property owners or tenants may request exemptions if no alternative parking exists. 

The ordinance allows multiple violations on a single vehicle to be combined on one ticket.

“My intent is to try to not ticket [people] to death, but just to get them to move their vehicles when we issue a parking ban,” Goodine said.

The town is also planning to issue a request for proposals for a new snow plow contract in the coming weeks. Goodine said that he is “pleased with [the town’s] contract right now.” The new contract would have an initial term of three years, with an option to extend for an additional two years.

Round School request for proposals

Goodine said that the selectboard would meet on February 3 with the town attorney to conduct a final review of a draft request for proposals (RFP) for a new daycare at 39 State Street, known locally as the Round School. The organization that had operated a daycare on that site, Community Childhood Learning Place, closed its operations last month.

Once the draft RFP is completed, community members will be able to request a copy for review and the town will host a public work session to address lingering questions about the future of daycare in Castine.

“We will collect comments on what people believe should be in the RFP,” Goodine said. Community members will have the opportunity to provide input on what should be added to the draft at that time.

Maine climate super fund

The selectboard approved a resolution to support the creation of a Maine climate super fund, which is under consideration by the Maine state legislature, to help mitigate the costs of municipal infrastructure repair related to extreme weather events. 

“We’re just putting our weight behind the idea,” selectboard member Roberta Boczkiewicz said. “I went through our infrastructure plan and I found $4 million that we could pay for with that fund if indeed the state went ahead and [created] the fund.”

The fund has not been created and the resolution is not binding.

Public forum for town dock study

The town will host a public forum for the town dock study on Feb. 25 at 6 p.m. 

“We really encourage everybody to come and hear what the final analysis says,” Boczkiewicz said.

In related business, Goodine said that he is working to finalize paperwork to leverage congressionally directed spending funds that were secured by Sen. Susan Collins for upgrades to the town's floating dock and piling arrangements. 

Goodine said that progress on the paperwork has stalled due to Maine Maritime Academy’s ongoing pier reconstruction project. “We're waiting for MMA to finish,” he said, explaining that the town’s grant proposal is based on the effects of the MMA dock and training ship, which is expected to arrive later this year.

He said that while it has been difficult to complete the paperwork without “a dock that's fully complete or a [new] ship sitting there” he has recently been advised that it is possible to submit “some of the work ahead of time.”

Town budget

The selectboard held the first budget work session during a meeting on Jan. 28. A second meeting will take place on Feb. 11 at 7:30 a.m.