To most, the months of March through December are enjoyable ones – after all, in that time span are the highly anticipated seasons of spring and summer. But for those drivers that frequent the North End and residents of the North End, these months mean aggravation every other Tuesday or Thursday – the infamous street cleaning days.

The street cleaning program in the North End is run by the Public Works Department. Each street has different street cleaning dates: Hull Street is the second and fourth Tuesday of the month from 12 to 4 p.m., while Prince Street is the first and third Tuesday of the month and starts earlier in the morning. According to CityofBoston.gov, the street cleaning program is executed because “It will provide cleaner streets in the neighborhood and a reduction in rodent food sources.”

Although the intentions of the street cleaning are good, if your car is on a North End street during its street cleaning hours, then the outcome is not so good for the owner of the vehicle.

“I didn’t even realize Tuesday was a street cleaning day on Hull Street. The words are printed really small on the signs too so I didn’t even think to read it,” said North End resident Ryan Leonard. “And when I left for work in the morning at 10 a.m. my car was still there so I didn’t even think twice about street cleaning.

“Later that afternoon, my girlfriend realized the car wasn’t there and it was such a hassle. We had to go all the way to East Boston to pick up the car, pay a $135 fine, and they even gave me a $40 ticket on top of it. Go figure.”

Making the innocent mistake of not realizing – or simply forgetting – that it’s a street cleaning day ends up costing you $175. As if the fee of $135 to get the car from the tow company wasn’t enough, the city of Boston generously slaps on a $40 ticket violation for street cleaning too.

Towed cars and ticketing in the North End are both inconvenient and pricey. Fortunately, there is now a tool on the CityofBoston.gov website that provides a search to look up the schedules for street cleaning dates of different streets in the North End, and even offers the option of registering for “No-Tow” emails that send out reminders about the street cleaning day the night before.

It is vital that North End residents and visitors use these tools or pay close attention to the neighborhood signs. If not, they should brace themselves for a long aggravating day of locating their car and finding a way to the tow company to get it. Didn’t think it could get any better? Of course it does – the cherry on the cake – an inconvenient $175 dent in your wallet.