The snowstorm is over, and Boston's French Toast Alert System is down to two slices as residents continue to dig out. But just as street parking begins to clear, seemingly random items begin to appear in these spaces — a table, a trash can, a beach chair. These oddball items are how Bostonians reserve their residential street parking spaces after spending hours digging them out after a major storm, reports WCVB. When the city declares a snow emergency, street parking is banned along major roads so that snowplows and emergency vehicles have access. To prevent this, people put items in the parking spaces they dig out to "reserve" them until they can park their cars there.