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Citizen complaint of the day: Gamblers parking on Charlestown streets
By adamg on Sun, 10/27/2019 - 1:19pm
A fed-up citizen files a 311 complaint about an influx of parkers on Brighton Street just past Sullivan Square in Charlestown:
Tired of non-resident cars parking on OUR street and walking to the "Casino" need enforcement here!! This street is residents only 24-7
A similar 311 complaint was also filed yesterday about the nearby Parker Street.
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Comments
Why?
Why would people park in Charlestown and walk to the casino when parking at the casino is free now?
people
who don't want other people to know they were at the casino.
That makes no sense
Especially if you keep your phone on you and don't turn off the gps.
Harold and Kumar
Didn't know it in the second movie. I think a lot people are surprised that their phone more or less knows where they are and records it all.
plenty of people
have no idea how to access someone else's location information from their gps data.
Yes ... AND ...
... your car is known by GPS to be parked in Charlestown?
Please explain this "special" logic by which someone would not want it known that they are at a casino, but that this *someone* who REALLY wanted to know where SOMEBODY ELSE was would be driving the streets of Charlestown and say OH THEY WENT TO CHURCH.
Sounds like the fantasies of people with no grounding in reality.
Yes ... AND ...
... your car is known by GPS to be parked in Charlestown?
Please explain this "special" logic by which someone would not want it known that they are at a casino, but that this *someone* who REALLY wanted to know where SOMEBODY ELSE was would be driving the streets of Charlestown and say OH THEY WENT TO CHURCH.
Sounds like the fantasies of people with no grounding in reality.
woah, take it easy
i feel like you're really personally invested in this, it's a little weird.
i simply mentioned one possible explanation, that's all.
Hordes of people r walking over because the don't want anyone to
...know they are going there? Doesn't make any sense. Sounds like a paranoid's reading of the ink blots.
Good luck with BTD
They cannot and do not enforce parking activities unless they get a 311 complaint and unfortunately you would have to report every illegally parked vehicle.
Not the case in my neighborhood
BTD routinely patrols and people who park in crosswalks, blocking intersections, or in front of fire hydrants tend to get ticketed.
Boy do I wish they did that
Boy do I wish they did that in Charlestown! There are so many scofflaws who park blocking crosswalks or way too close to a hydrant and yet I only ever see BTD giving tickets on street sweeping days.
Half the game is showing up
It helps a lot if our neighborhood shows up in force at candidates' nights, at city councilors' open meetings, at police department open meetings, etc. and consistently stays on message that this matters.
311 does work though
I reported someone who kept parking in a bus stop. Got a ticket both days and hasn't parked in the stop since.
Yeah I think you have to report stuff
BTD told me they do not have regular routes they cruise in the neighborhoods on a daily basis.
Once the parking enforcement people get to know the regular spots where scofflaws try to beat the system they’re rotated out to another section.
Maybe it's a gathering spot...
For the next Ocean's 13 heist team? Can't be too long before the Charlestown bank robbers make an attempt.
They're gambling...
on not getting a ticket because the odds are in their favor.
Can't believe it took this many comments to get to this.
One day, this person will
One day, this person will need to leave Charlestown. Then they'll know what it's like to be the nonresident.
If the most convenient parking they can find is a half hour walk from their destination, maybe they'll have some sympathy for people in a difficult situation.
The "difficult situation" of
The "difficult situation" of wanting to drive to a casino that now has free parking. Oh, ok. Pull the other one while you're at it.
My eyes can't roll hard enough to react appropriately to this drivel. Resident parking is for residents.
Even if you think it makes
Even if you think it makes sense to judge people based on their destination, there's no proof that the people parking stickerless (do I dare say "undocumented"?) cars on this street were going to the casino, or that they were gamblers rather than employees.
Except maybe it started when the casino opened
Hard enough to get parking spots when there’s more permits than spots but when non residents don’t get ticketed, encouraging them to take the few available. I wouldn’t be surprised if the casino heavily encourages the cops to ignore like in the North End.
Residents
I'll start agreeing with this when residents have to pay market rates for street parking. My eyes can't roll hard enough to react appropriately to this entitlement of free parking.
Why would they need to leave Charlestown?
I mean, its close to a lot of things. Heck, one can even walk to the new casino from what I've read.
If I were forced from a neighborhood, I would be inclined to not go back.
who's to say...
they are going to the Casino?
you can tell they're going to the casino..
by the matching fanny packs they wear.
Resident only parking....
... should be illegal. Public streets belong to the public. Not the property owners adjacent.
Resident parking is overkill
Resident parking is overkill at this point. My neighborhood is 10am - 6pm I honestly don't care who parks on my street while I am at work.
Not everybody keeps the same hours as you
Not everybody works the same hours. While you are at work your neighbor, the nurse, gets off shift at 7AM and, after stopping for an errand, arrives home at 8:30. Your other neighbor, the retired person, goes out to get groceries at noon and comes back at 1:30 with a carload of bags to unload.
It was a policy decision to give a slight advantage in finding parking to people who live in a neighborhood over people who drive into the neighborhood to work. You could argue that this was a bad policy decision, but it was arrived at through the workings of a duly elected government running a legislative process in which many different constituencies had their voices heard.
Amen!
No legal space savers
At most, a resident parking
At most, a resident parking permit should exempt you from a time limit or having to pay. People visiting area residents shouldn't be parking 15 minutes away in metered spots that are for local businesses. Now that you can pay for parking with your phone, allow pay-to-park in residential spaces, with a strictly enforced time limit, and a higher rate than area meters. People will pay it for the convenience factor.
Alternatively
Couldn’t you just as easily argue that public parking spaces in the city of Boston belong to the people of Boston and not to people commuting in from the suburbs?
I say yes
Yes, just like Hingham can make its beach for residents only. Except Hingham doesn't say that only people from a certain part of town can use it.
Resident parking stickers should say Boston on them or do away with them and charge whatever the market rate is
you are missing the purpose
It was invented as neighborhood parking. I think it should be based on local income. If you can afford Charlestown then you don't need neighborhood parking. it is covered with bus routes that run more frequently than almost any other neighborhood.
Neighborhood parking leaves out all the waiters, cleaners and other service providers that work in rich neighborhoods. It doesn't mean you can't park your car on the street.
Varies by neighborhood
Beacon Hill has, IIRC, about 1700 street parking spaces, about 7,000 parking stickers issued, and a 9,000 employee facility (MGH) at one end of the neighborhood and an 8,000 employee facility (State House etc) at the other end.
The resident sticker program is not for rich property owners; it is for people who live in the neighborhood, including, for example, in section 8 apartments. And it doesn’t confer a reserved space; all it does is give the residents a shot at finding an on street space. Without the sticker program that would be a mighty slim chance.
With that said, I believe the city should not be giving out stickers for free, but should be charging for private use of city property to store private vehicles.
High Income and well served by public transportation
All of the high income neighborhoods are very well served by public transportation and car share programs. I am not saying that everyone that lives there is rich. I am saying that having neighborhood parking hurts hourly employees and small businesses.
You're arguing against yourself
If these places are so well served by public transportation, hourly employees can use that means. As far as small businesses go, you will notice that there is no resident parking in commercial areas, only time limited parking (or meters, which in theory do the same thing.)
I'm with Bob. Neighborhood parking is to help the residents of an area. There is no guarantee of parking for the residents, especially in his neighborhood. That a retiree and a hedge fund manager would, in theory, be battling for the same spots is immaterial. Either of them should have the spot over an outsider like me.
you are arguing against any residential parking
If you can afford to live in Charlestown, Back Bay, Northend or Beacon Hill you don't need preferential parking.
Outsiders like you are less likely to visit restaurants or shops in these neighborhoods of the tiny amount of available parking.
Let me give you Bob's reply before he gets to it
You've be surprised by the income variation on Beacon Hill. As for the neighborhood at the root of this article, there are 2 public housing developments in Charlestown, in addition to a bunch of families who have lived there since before it was fashionable, as is also the case in the North End.
Thanks!
:-)
I am not surprised by the income variation
But that is what averages are about. Nobody is taking away anyone's car. And public housing developments should have separate resident parking. If you want to live in a rich neighborhood, go ahead. Keep your car, but resident parking in these neighborhoods is harder on service providers.
The politics of scarce resources...
There isn't enough parking to go around, by a factor of 10 or so. We, the citizens of Boston, acting through our elected government, made the decision with regard to parking spaces to favor the interests of people who live in a neighborhood over the interests of people who drive into that neighborhood to work. There are plenty of excellent arguments on both sides of the question of whether or not that is good policy.
Personally, I respect the argument that the city ought to be charging at least a little something for the privilege of storing one's car on public property. At the same time, I also favor policies that encourage what's left of the middle class to stay in the city. Rich empty nesters in 3 million dollar apartments don't really care a whole lot about street parking: they either have valet service in their building, or garage spaces, or use car service. Middle class families, on the other hand, use their cars to schlep groceries, or get the kids to a soccer game. It would be nice if public transportation filled that role, but at the moment it doesn't. Resident parking stickers make their life considerably more livable.
If you can afford to live in
If you can afford to live in Charlestown with a car then you are not middle class, you are rich. And that's fine. The city doesn't owe you a reserved parking space. Middle class families have lots of options. You can walk to your errands or walk to your parking space. Nobody living in Charlestown needs a car.
There you go again
Living in an area does not make one rich or poor. The two are unrelated.
I'll give a property in Charlestown as an example- 9 Oak Street. This property is assessed at $697,400. In 1985, it was assessed at $64,100. In 1984, a mortgage was taken out on this property for $48,000. Let's just say it was a 30 year mortgage. That means it was paid off 5 years ago. That means the owner of the property, in addition to maintenance and utilities, which would be the same in Charlestown as it would be in Mattapan, pays only property tax to remain on the property. In the past year, the property owners have paid $4,757.79 in property tax, or have had about $400 in monthly tax costs.
I picked on 9 Oak Street intentionally. The owner is known for having a working class job and for being a longtime resident. Regardless of what he is paid, his basic housing costs are $400. One does not need to be rich to afford that.
Yes, if they move from Charlestown, the buyer will most likely be a person of means, but please disabuse yourself of the idea that everyone in Charlestown, or any part of the city, is rich because they live in an area known for wealth.
Just because a person earned
Just because a person earned every penny doesn't mean they aren't rich. They don't need neighborhood parking.
They can afford $400 a month for property taxes
That's is not a sign of being rich. I'm sending off $1,700 a month to a mortgage company, and I don't consider myself rich, either. Meanwhile, for the same amount you can live outside of Mattapan Square in a one bedroom. Do you consider the residents of Mattapan rich, too?
cherry picking
Your comparison doesn't apply.
Okay
If a person lives in Charlestown and needs a car to get to work, they need parking. That includes the hourly workers you defended on this thread. They live in Charlestown, too.
How’s that?
reread my comments
Grownups with jobs don't need reserved parking to exist.
Weren't you the one that wrote
and
Or in short, grownups with jobs need parking to exist? As for the reserved part, that shows that you don't understand the issues that lead to resident parking. I know you have antipathy towards my writing, but read what Bob Leponge, who deals with this on a constant basis, wrote about resident parking and the need for it. He does a much better job on the issue than I ever could.
Good job on moving away from the class issue, though.
misleading
I said grownups with jobs don't need reserved parking. I am not backing off the fact that Charlestown is a rich neighborhood. I think my arguments stand on their own.
Your argument stands on its own
In your own mind.
Resident parking is not reserved parking. That you conflate the two shows your knowledge of the issue.
And you’ve moved the goalposts on Charlestown. As has been discussed, rich neighborhoods have poor people living in them.
more projection
of course I agree with my argument. I haven't moved any goal posts. resident parking is parking reserved for residents only. I have demonstrated my knowledge of the issue. There isn't any more to say.
Why isn't the parking reserved?
Because there is no guarantee of a spot, either near your house or, in the case of some neighborhoods, anywhere at all. A reserved spot would be a spot dedicated to a person (as one finds in some developments.)
Dishonest as usual
Go on, casino supporters.
Tell us again how stupid Eastie residents were for vetoing this POS in their neighborhood.
Very
Because the proposed site was right next to Revere, a separate municipality that could have conducted their own vote which would have yielded a "yes", and did.
The voters of East Boston did not properly leverage their geographical standing.
Alternatively
The people in East Boston were not willing to play “beggar thy neighbor”; their neighbors to the north were...
Alternatively
I've patronized more restaurants in Chelsea and East Boston this year than I ever did before because I'm "already at the casino".
Meanwhile Charlestown never
Meanwhile Charlestown never got a vote - and we should have. An Eastie no vote was a yes vote for Charlestown traffic.
You got a vote
You could have voted for a casino in your city. Like, maybe, at an old racetrack, perhaps?
Sullivan Square
Maybe they're parking and taking the T at Sullivan Square and not going to the casino at all. As someone else said, parking at the casino is free now, so parking down there makes no sense, unless these gamblers have yet to hear.
Same problem at the city square side of charlestown
where visitors park to go to the bruins game or celtics game.
We have people who live on the other side of charlestown Park here and walk to work then come walk back to their car in city square and drive back to sullivan square. We also have people who park here and grab a can to Logan and leave their car here for weeks. Only to come back and have a parking ticket for street cleaning and then go home to the Burbs. Much cheaper then parking at Logan or taking a car
Service home.