City to study higher fines for cars parked where street sweepers go - and an end to sweeping-related towing

Often the street sweeper just goes around the ticketed car while it waits to be towed.

The big street sweeper can't clear under a parked car, but for $50 or $55 (the increased revenue from the ticket) the city can easily afford to buy a fleet of Roombas and leafblower to clean up 90% of dirt and trash under parked cars.

The tow companies were all pumping money into the former Mayor's pocket. Check out the political contributions that were reported, not to mention the unreported.
Towing was in effect in some neighborhoods and not others. The tow companies made more money than the City during streetsweeping days.

The math isn't all that linear because towing is uneven. In some neighborhoods (southie) there is a lot more towing than others (north end). Also tow trucks try to avoid new, expensive cars, because if they get one little scratch on in it, they'll have to pay for it.

But there are several aspects to enforcement. One is "deterrent value" and towing is the clear winner. Another is "fairness" where tickets are the clear winner because towing is so punitive and uneven. Another is "clean streets", and in theory expensive tickets should result in cleaner streets because a team of hokeys can clean under cars more effectively than a giant street sweeper waiting for a limited number of tow trucks to move cars away. There are often not enough tow trucks to tow away every car in time for the sweeper to pass. The space under those cars get zero cleaning in the current system.

Street cleaning does quite a bit, although to some extent it depends on the wind pattern on the street. Some areas of my neighborhood seem to accumulate everything (leaves, cigarette butts, wrappers, etc). Some seem to be blown clean by the wind. So that's a factor.

Then obviously, it picks stuff up. My street is done every 2 weeks and goes from a bit messy to pretty clean.

But the biggest thing that I see is that stuff accumulates in a growing manner. In other words, Say there is stick in the gutter. A chip package gets stuck on the stick, so now you've got a little mini- roadblock. That then catches leaves, cigarette buts, etc., so the pile balloons. When that stuff gets wet, its rotten and nasty and continues to build.

So yeah, it does a lot.

I think towing should continue, at a rate that is inconvenient and pricey enough to get everyone's attention, but not outrageous. Private contractors should absolutely NOT be allowed to gauge.

The ticketing and towing procedure is overseen by the cIty. A car is tagged, the car gets called into the tow line, the towline gives a cleArance #, the caecar gets towed awsy. Pictures are mandatory. They protect the towing company and the constituant. The rates are regulated by the State. Towing is a regulated indystry. The towing company pays the city for each tow.
By not towing the mayor is going to on put some towing companies out business. A lot of dB people will loose their jobs. The towing companies have bought expensive trucks, hired extra people, bought expensive communication devices, state of the art cameras, increased general liability, auto and workers comp policies. Rented more storage space.
DID MAYOR WALSH THINK OF THIS. DIES HE JUST NOT CARE. HE CERTAINLY DID NOT GIVE THESE HARD WORKING PEOPLE ANY HEADS UP.