Cracking Boston is a new blog by a newcomer to our Fair Hub. She writes:
... If NYC is an over-fashioned socialite and DC is a power hungry young lawyer, Boston is a screaming baseball fan with a mouth full of hot dog. The difference is that the first two, proud though they may seem, still feel a need to urgently explain how wonderful they are. Boston, enjoying the all-American past time, merely shrugs at the newcomer. You don't like us? Who cares? We've got history, sports, food, entertainment, architecture, and unfaltering pride. Needless to say, I have been humbled. ...
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Comments
welcome to boston
By bostnkid
Tue, 07/17/2007 - 9:05pm
this is the best city in the country and i should know, its the only place ive ever lived.now just make sure you dont park in front of my house.
Ha! I was just considering
By ZedThou
Wed, 07/18/2007 - 12:21am
Ha! I was just considering asking the bloggers here about the strange parking customs in Boston. I've lived in Roslindale two years now and the bright orange cones in front of peoples' houses on the street are really starting to bug me. It's a public road, yet for some reason people around here think they're entitled to the spot. I don't even want to know what happens if I toss the cone and park my car there. Will vandalism ensue? Can I call someone in public works and have all of these cones picked up? There must be 10 or so on my street alone. It's July, no one has just shoveled their car out of a snowbank.
parking woes
By bostnkid
Wed, 07/18/2007 - 7:57am
the only time someone has the right to mark a spot as their own is if they shovel it out.after that it's theirs for 3 days.some people in some neighborhoods think they can stake claim to spots year round.they cant.my advice to you would be to email the public works, the mayors office, the local police.make sure they all know the other has been copied on the email ( i find this gets a quicker response)if you move someones cone and park there you might have a problem.people will mess with your car.then the cops will come and tell you its your word against theirs and there is nothing they can do.if the whole street is doing it then you have every right to complain.we pay taxes to have the right to park on the streets we live on!good luck and be careful.
Comes With The Apartment
By Suldog
Wed, 07/18/2007 - 8:31am
If renting, we feel that the space in front of the house comes with the apartment rental. If we own the house, we own the space. In all other instances, feel free to park there.
Suldog
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com
You're kidding right?
By Anonymous
Wed, 07/18/2007 - 11:08am
You're kidding right?
Not Specifically Boston
By SwirlyGrrl
Wed, 07/18/2007 - 11:17am
I think this sort of space saving behavior goes on wherever it isn't specifically squelched by the authorities. Older parts of cities, built before cars or before there were so many cars, have these conflicts over who "owns" the publicly owned space in front of each building. Of course you have no right to public property, no mater how close to your private property (that is called an illegal taking), but some persist in this notion of ownership of public domain. I have heard of similar issues in NYC, SFO, Chicago, Philly, etc. each with its own local customs and unwritten laws.
My parents live in an 1890s area of Portland, Oregon with few garages or even driveways, and my dad had the same attitude toward "owning" his space on the street in front (despite having a small driveway). The cops disagreed with him about his claim to the spaces, but they also cracked down on the too-many-cars per unit at the adjacent apartment buildings (each unit was approved for a single car, off street, but often contributed three or more to the neighborhood).
Now that "the hippies" bought and renovated the apartments next door and are live-in landlords, the two or three families per unit and car-loving Reed College student crash pads that generated the problem are a thing of the past.
Of Course
By Suldog
Wed, 07/18/2007 - 11:59am
Yes, I was basically kidding. I was just pointing out the prevailing attitude among many.
The lone exception to my kidding about it would be when a resident shovels out the space following a snowstorm. In that case, I believe there is sweat equity.
Suldog
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com
In Lowell ...
By SwirlyGrrl
Wed, 07/18/2007 - 12:25pm
residents in certain areas can apply for permits that do give them the space in front of their house. The street and number are written on the sticker, and they get a sign to put in the house window that says "reserved for residents of 199-201 University Ave.".
That limits fights to the six people who own cars at that address with two spaces ...
In some places, they've cracked down on that.
By independentminded
Wed, 07/18/2007 - 12:41pm
Reserving a parking space after a snowstorm has turned out not to be a smart idea on the long run. That's why some places have cracked down on that. There were too many incidents, not only with people screaming at each other, but incidents where people actually came to blows--and over what..?! A parking space. It's ridiculous. Cambridge and Somerville, for example, have cracked down on that practice and disallowed it, and, frankly, I'm glad of it. Only a couple of years ago, I used to see tons of furniture/construction cones out on the sides of Washington Street in the wintertime, because people insisted on reserving their parking spaces in the wintertime. It was not only ridiculous, but it was quite an eyesore, to boot, seeing all that furniture in the street.
I can understand doing that, however, on a temporary basis, for instance, when someone's laid up with an injury and can't walk very far--and they do that until they've recovered. Or, in the case of a woman who's 8-9 months pregnant, or, on a permanent basis, an elderly person, whether they use a cane or not.
Otherwise, what's so terrible about a perfectly able-bodied person having to park his/her car somewhat furthur away and walk a little bit? Nothing, as far as I'm concerned.
Snow Parking
By Suldog
Wed, 07/18/2007 - 2:39pm
The thing is, the person who shovelled out the space didn't necessarily have to do so. Yeah, if he/she wanted a spot in front of his/her house, yes. But that person could just as easily have NOT shovelled and parked at Josephine Blow's house across the street. Fair to Josephine? I think not. Your mileage may vary.
Suldog
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com
I hate to disagree with my fellow natives, but ...
By cynical
Wed, 07/18/2007 - 3:51pm
First off: Welcome, Boston Bean of "Cracking Boston"! I think your description of Bostonians as compared to denizens of some other fine cities is both funny and apt. I suspect you're well on your way to a happy transition to life here in the home of the bean and the cod.
To the point: I am a native Bostonian who has lived in many of the different neighborhoods of this fair city. I've lived in Roslindale on a street where everyone had driveways but still literally questioned (gently but seriously) anyone who parked in front of their homes. I've lived in J.P. in a neighborhood where no one knew anyone else and no one had driveways, and if you shoveled out a spot after a storm and then had the bad taste to drive your car somewhere (say, to work), you were lucky if you could find some other shoveled spot when you came home -- but everyone understood that all the spots were up for grabs and there were no "savesies". And I've lived in East Boston where driveways were rare and most people not only claimed ownership of the spot out front (even if 6 other cars were registered to the same address) but also placed furniture in spots regardless of whether they had shoveled them out (and even did so when there was no snow to be seen).
I know many city-dwellers disagree on this point, but this is hardly the litmus test of being a Bostonian or one of our fans (and please, let's not make it one): In my opinion, if I shovel out my spot, and you shovel out your spot, and Susie Snow shovels out her spot, and so on, then we'll all have a spot to come home to, regardless of whether it's the one we shoveled out. The people who mess things up (IMNSHO) are the ones who never shovel out a spot and then commandeer the shoveled ones (with a chair, a cone, an old TV set, a trash barrel, or what-have-you). I don't expect the same spot I cleared to be available when I come home again, but I certainly don't think anyone who didn't shovel it has the right to reserve it with anything but an actual car. If everyone considered it a community service to clear at least one spot, then everyone in that community who needs a space should be able to find one.
That being said, I understand that there is a culture here (and elsewhere) that supports the reserving of parking spaces, whether due to weather or to the location of a spot in front of one's home, and I can't make it go away. I can shrug my shoulders, chuckle a bit, or even seethe when there's no parking spot available when I get home despite having shoveled out a new one every single day in the week after a storm, but I choose not to reserve any spot I've shoveled in the interests of the bigger community good. But that's just me.
Oh, and did I mention that I now have an assigned, reserved parking spot at my new apartment complex -- and plowing is included? That's (almost) better than having a washer & dryer in my unit!
P.S. As for what might happen if you park in a space "reserved" by one of your neighbors? Assume your car will get keyed or the tires punctured. It happened to one of my friends who parked in an unmarked spot, apparently after the city trucks came through removing chairs and cones, so she had no idea it "belonged" to someone else. As someone else said, your mileage may vary.
We're a "screaming baseball fan with mouth full of hot dog"?
By mariav
Wed, 07/18/2007 - 8:24am
Really?
I do agree with the "you don't like us? Who cares?" sentiment though. Boston: Take it or leave it, and from what I'm hearing, more people are opting to leave it. Oh well, if it means less traffic, I guess it balances out ;)
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[VARiable expression] @ http://www.mvarmazis.com