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No snow emergency, but Boston still gives residents a space-saver grace period
By adamg on Tue, 01/22/2019 - 12:35pm
The scene on Princeton Street in East Boston.
The Boston Public Works Department is responding to a flood of complaints about space savers - from South Boston, East Boston and Dorchester, in particular - with the same answer: Crews will pick up the cones, chairs and other detritus on the streets' regular trash pickup days.
That wasn't good enough for one resident of South Munroe Terrace in Dorchester, who pleaded with the city:
Trash doesn't come until Saturday. Please for the love of saint peter remove these space savers. THERE IS NO SNOW EMERGENCY & there's NO SNOW! There is absolutely no place to park for those of us who live on the street & ABIDE BY THE RULES! Thanks!
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Comments
It's a shame
These people all clearly worked for hours and hours and hours to clear their spots of snow. Bare pavement like that, it could be a scene from San Diego.
Why is anyone entitled to a
Why is anyone entitled to a spot if their car isn’t even there? It should be first come first served on a public street. Why are you Bostonians so selfish?
Easy
It incentives people to do the city’s job. Clear snow!
This isn’t rocket science.
You’re rewarded by the city for the fruits of you labor. Crazy concept, right comrade.
Sigh... Not this argument again.
By the luck of the draw, I got a street parking space the night of the storm. My neighbor didn't, and so paid to park in a garage. The next morning, I shoveled out the snow. My neighbor didn't have to. What I got in return for my labor was a free parking space, while my neighbor paid for his. Under what theory am I now entitled to exclusive use of that space? And under what theory is my neighbor forbidden from parking on the street again until the space saver window expires?
It seems like the problem
It seems like the problem occurs where spaces aren’t scarce, but residents (or visitors) who might otherwise have dug out any number of snowed-in spots instead choose to free ride on the labors of others when they vacate their cleared spots for the day —- e.g., to go to work.
Understood
But why should people who live in neighborhoods where spaces are scarce have to put up with people trying to save spaces?
Would you even know what rocket science is?
Yeah, it isn't difficult to see that people didn't much bother shoveling snow and never do.
Go buy a space if you want to own it.
Clearly it doesn't, since the
Clearly it doesn't, since the spaces in the photo are a mess.
If you don’t want to shovel out your car
That’s fine, be a lazy ass. But please don’t tell the rest of us what to do.
311 Takes Too Long
No snow emergency = no space savers allowed.
Walk the dog and toss any garbage you encounter around the corner. Problem solved for the neighborhood.
Waiting for Walsh and his minions to address a problem they have allowed to fester is a fool's approach.
No space savers allowed. Period.
Boston's ordinance explicitly bans space savers with a $250/day fine. If the city wants to make them legal after a snow emergency, then the city needs to write a new ordinance.
16-12.43 Prohibiting the Selling, Leasing, or Reserving of Public Ways.
a. No person or entity other than the City of Boston and any of its departments or designees shall have the authority to sell, lease, reserve or facilitate the reserving of any street, way, highway, road or parkway, or portion thereof, under the City of Boston's control.
b. Any violation of this section shall result in a fine of two hundred and fifty ($250.00) dollars for each violation. Each day that an entity is operating in violation of this section shall constitute a separate violation.
(Ord. 2014 c. 11)
You don't seriously expect Boston to know its own laws,
... much less enforce them, do you?
DON’T do that. Throwing out
DON’T do that. Throwing out space savers might make YOU feel better, but it’s a great way to ensure your unsuspecting neighbors’ tires get slashed...
What you should do
is leave the space saver there, wait for the asshole to return and then slash their tires after they park. Might be my new approach, I tossed over a dozen yesterday.
Only over the very short term
DO do that. Once the practice of tossing space savers becomes widespread, then it would become common knowledge, even to idiots, that the owner of the car parked in "your" space had nothing to do with moving your space saver.
No difference
There is no difference between a person removing the space saver and the city. The end result is the same, but wouldn't the city actually be exposing an unknowing parker to slashed tires too?
Just remove the space savers when you see them. It's not against the law.
Bets
Should we place bets that by Thursday after all this snow is melted those space savers will still be there?
"Time to be a vigilante!" (A PJ Masks parody)
The implication seems to be that this is a "rule" for citizens to enforce themselves if they want anything done. Great way to get to know your neighbors!
I’ve often insisted
the stereotype about Boston being full of bad drivers is innacurate. It’s actually full of selfish drivers, and the entire space saver system is just a prime example.
Ban cars until drivers can
Ban cars until drivers can prove they are responsible enough to own them.