City Councilor Michelle Wu (at large) says a rapidly growing Boston can no longer simply dole out unlimited free resident parking permits to residents and wants the city to start charging $25 per annual sticker - with exemptions for senior citizens, low-income residents and home-health and BPS staff who make regular home visits.
Wu's proposal, which the City Council will consider tomorrow, would also create, for the first time, a visitor pass, good for 72 hours - at a cost of $10 per visit.
"The current system is ineffective at managing curbside space in a manner that is fair and accessible to all who need to park on-street overnight," she writes in her proposal.
Boston has long doled out the permits for free - and has limited visitors to small numbers of spaces that are often taken by residents.
In her proposed ordinance - which they council will likely send to a committee for a hearing and study - Wu says that's no longer feasible when the Boston's population has increased by 100,000 since 1980 and number of permits in the city has increased 25% over the past ten years in a city that now has at least 300 households with five or more cars registered to them.
Her proposal also includes a way for the city to designate new areas for permitted parking, without waiting for residents to file petitions for them.
In her request for a hearing, she says the current system particularly benefits well off residents:
The current system to establish resident parking zones requires residents to self-organize and collect signatures from at least 51% of adult residents who live on the affected streets. Through this system, neighborhoods with resources and time have an advantage, which only perpetuates systemic inequities. ... More than half of households without vehicles have annual incomes less than
$25,000. Only 7% of zero-vehicle households make over $100,000
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Comments
Imagine that
By kisumxes
Tue, 04/23/2019 - 4:41pm
In Japan, you don‘t roll off the dealer lot until you’ve registered your off-street parking space with the RMV and the police have stopped by and measured out the space you claim to have to verify that the car you want to buy actually fits there.
[i]Your[/i] street belongs to the public, what in the actual hell makes you think you have some sort of enshrined right to store your private property on the public’s right-of-way?
Didn't you catch the part
By erik g
Tue, 04/23/2019 - 6:13pm
where he/she used "Democrat" as a pejorative? We got us a genuine Republican here: totally opposed to anyone getting anything without paying market price for it, riiiiiight up until you mention that "anyone" means "everyone" and the city isn't going to make a special exemption for his/her delicate snowflake self.
Our leadership is all democrat
By Roztonian (not verified)
Tue, 04/23/2019 - 8:00pm
And and uncontolled taxing of people is not going to solve anything in Boston.
"Republican? Snowflake" nnnnope. Wrong and wrong.
Just against "progressive" Democrat pols who think the way to fix things is to take more of my money - and in the process, make things worse.
Not looking for an exemption, I already pay property tax.
And guess what - there are a lot of people like me out there Erik. Socially liberal, hard-working, fiscally-conservative folks who don't want their money wasted on rediculous money grabs that will do nothing to solve issues in the city.
Don't hurt yourself trying to wrap your brain around that one snowflake.
Keep up your (any differing opinions is an evil Republican) narrative though, it's been going pretty well for yah.
Haha.
I don‘t want my money
By kisumxes
Wed, 04/24/2019 - 6:58am
wasted on ridiculous money grabs that do nothing to solve the issues in the city either. I’m thinking of property taxes that are higher than they need to be because the city basically gives away valuable real estate to special snowflakes that love to cry about muh parking.
I don‘t want billions and billions of tax dollars wasted on six-lane traffic sewers that dissect neighborhoods, cause drainage issues and pollution because special snowflakes like you are too snowflake-y to take the Ⓣ or ride a bike for their trips under 5 miles (which applies to more trips in the city than you’d think).
It’s great that MA kinda sort has something resembling universal health care but I hate that more and more of my health care premiums go towards treating and curing preventable obesity, and respiratory and coronary diseases because special snowflakes like you are too special to take the Ⓣ or ride a bike for their trips under 5 miles (which applies to more trips in the city than you’d think). This applies even more so to all those killed and injured in motor vehicle crashes.
You want to solve issues in the city? Reducing car use does exactly that for all the issues above (and quite a few more - housing costs could be lower if not for minimum parking requirements and a pearl-clutching fear of mixed-use high density zoning)
reducing cars would also help
By anon (not verified)
Wed, 04/24/2019 - 9:53am
reducing cars would also help open up bike use for people like me, who aren't opposed, but who's regular commutes would be extremely dangerous to bike on due to the rampant speeding, light running, and lawbreaking. I take the bus instead but on nice days it'd be awesome to have a more flexible option... just not awesome enough to potentially die for it
Not every one is a democrat.
By NOTsamWalton (not verified)
Sat, 04/27/2019 - 4:56pm
Someone on city council may be either "Unrolled" or possibly a Republican. To place 5th in the at large race does not take a lot of votes.
Ummm
By spin_o_rama
Tue, 04/23/2019 - 4:48pm
In this thread you've literally called for creating a whole new bureaucracy to license and register bicycles but go off
that wind over your head...whoosh
By Roztonian (not verified)
Tue, 04/23/2019 - 4:58pm
yes, that was called sarcasm - but don't let that keep you from furthering you disdain for evil car owners.
for those in the back, we don't need more bureaucracy, and the city does not need to be charging for resident parking stickers.
is that clear enough?
My goodness
By erik g
Tue, 04/23/2019 - 11:09pm
1. Register an account, anon; there might be lots of people out there saying equally dumb things in your name, and how are we to tell?
2. If you have to explain your sarcasm to the back row, it means you’re not clever enough to use sarcasm on the internet. We’ll let you have your privileges back right after you register that account, and after you answer literally a single question that’s been thrown your way in this thread
Ah you used sarcasm cause you had no point to make
By spin_o_rama
Wed, 04/24/2019 - 1:07pm
So you want to continue the free parking for motorists because charging them is unfair. Gotcha.
Park in your driveway or STFU
By Parkwayne
Tue, 04/23/2019 - 5:29pm
That's how they roll in Brookline - why not here?
Might be the first time I've agreed with a (R)
By Scauma
Tue, 04/23/2019 - 3:38pm
I for the life of me cannot understand why these people want MORE taxes on top of the taxes you already pay. I thought excise taxes were for road maintenance and upkeep? And we all benefit from useable roads, even if you don't drive yourself.
excise taxes dedicated for roads? nope
By Roztonian (not verified)
Tue, 04/23/2019 - 3:53pm
they go into a "general fund" which means you will generally never see a benefit.
But those taxes and fees don't cover the true cost
By spin_o_rama
Tue, 04/23/2019 - 4:32pm
We have a revenue shortfall of $6.4 billion over the next ten years to take care of. How is that being addressed without increasing usage fees?
So sure I benefit from roads even if I only occasional drive but those that drive daily are not being made to pay the true cost and as a result its subsidized by other, non-driving taxpayers.
People want better transit options and when one option is so overwhelmingly subsidized that it is presented as the most convenient and financially viable option, its not shocking to see it win out over public transportation. And lets not forget active measures from the fossil fuel and car industry that continue to fight against public transit.
And while public transit itself is subsidized and in a budget crisis of its own, we understand it as a benefit to society that riders are being asked year after year to pay more and more for. Why can't it be the same for motorists?
Ever pay a water bill?
By SwirlyGrrl
Tue, 04/23/2019 - 5:05pm
You get charged for what you use from the public supply.
Ditto with being charged for parking.
Funny you mention water
By merlinmurph
Tue, 04/23/2019 - 6:57pm
Water services are also subsidized, along with sewer.
Makes the point even stronger
By SwirlyGrrl
Tue, 04/23/2019 - 8:14pm
Something can still be subsidized and you can still pay for what you use.
At $25 a vehicle, parking is still subsidized.
Something can still be
By merlinmurph
Wed, 04/24/2019 - 7:31am
Which drivers do thru gas taxes, excise taxes, tolls, etc.
FWIW, my taxes go towards subsidizing the MWRA, yet we have private water and sewer. You don't hear me whining.
And whatever people are paying for water is a steal, i.e. subsidized, far below market rate. Water is the next oil.
Because the current system
By eherot
Tue, 04/23/2019 - 5:16pm
Because the current system results in poor allocation of supply and everyone constantly complaining about parking shortages. Charging what the spaces are worth works for literally everything else, why can't we do it for parking?
You are a welfare brat. You
By Kinopio
Tue, 04/23/2019 - 10:46pm
You are a welfare brat. You have gotten free storage for years yet you act like an ungrateful child. Why don't you provide storage for your personal property yourself instead of relying on a handout?
A welfare brat? That’s a new
By Lmo
Tue, 04/23/2019 - 11:02pm
A welfare brat? That’s a new one.
The excise tax should be reduced to those who pay
By StillFromDorchester
Tue, 04/23/2019 - 2:02pm
If this passes they should deduct the fee from your excise tax. No need for the city to double dip.
That's too reasonable
By Scauma
Tue, 04/23/2019 - 2:25pm
And the bike brigade hates all things car related. I can only imagine the joy this site experienced with this article.
{whispers} Many people who
By SamJ (not verified)
Wed, 04/24/2019 - 11:37am
{whispers} Many people who regularly ride bikes also own cars....
What would be the point of
By anon (not verified)
Tue, 04/23/2019 - 2:25pm
What would be the point of that? The city would collect the same amount of money, and it would be a lot more work.
How would it be the same?
By StillFromDorchester
Tue, 04/23/2019 - 2:45pm
You pay 25 dollars less in excise tax if you get a resident parking sticker, they dont get an extra 25 dollars from your pocket.
You still pay for the sticker but you could use the savings from the excise tax to pay for it.
The point would be to let
By Scauma
Tue, 04/23/2019 - 3:40pm
Some of the citizens keep a little more money in their pocket. That's essentially double taxation.
Double taxation would be rebating the fee
By SwirlyGrrl
Tue, 04/23/2019 - 8:16pm
Otherwise, you are charging property tax on driveways and then charging people who have driveways more on their excise tax.
Up the cost of each permit- then hire Sunday 'Meter' people
By a frustrated ca... (not verified)
Tue, 04/23/2019 - 2:02pm
I have a city car and would welcome paying for the permit if the city will staff ticketing personnel 7 days a week. Better yet...7 X 24.
I live near the Garden and using the car or returning to the city on Sundays is a nightmare when the Bruins or Celtics are in town.
Suburbanites know the city does not ticket on Sundays so they park on surrounding streets. Just about every parking spot is taken by a non-resident. We make it easy for them to head back to the suburbs as they do not have to wait in line to exit the parking garage.
Calls to 311 end with 'Sorry, we don't ticket on Sundays'.
Love the visitor parking pass- particularly if you can order it online.
you would "welcome" paying to park where you live?
By Roztonian (not verified)
Tue, 04/23/2019 - 3:47pm
you would "welcome" paying to park where you live?
why? you already pay taxes right? why welcome additional taxes when you will never see a benefit?
if there is a spot, and you live in the neighborhood, you should park in the spot - pretty simple.
I am all for the visitor pass - create revenue from people wanting to visit Boston, instead of from people who actually live here / and pay taxes here.
if somebody from the burbs wants to come into my neighborhood, hit the bars, and stay the weekend, then they should pay to do so. no problem there.
Paying to store your private property
By SwirlyGrrl
Tue, 04/23/2019 - 8:18pm
I do that - it is called "having a driveway".
If you want to play this "my car is sacred and I get to park on the street" game, be ready for your carfree neighbors to start demanding equal plots of space for patios and gardens and storage units just because they live there, too.
Cars are private property - they don't give you special rights to public property.
equal plots of space for patios and gardens and storage units???
By Roztonian (not verified)
Wed, 04/24/2019 - 3:35pm
"my car is sacred and I get to park on the street, game"?
What the actual hell are you talking about? Haha, it's funny to read
"get ready for equal plots of space for patios and gardens and storage units"?
In my 40 plus years of living in Boston, I have never seen anything close to this.
Sweet argument though.
BTW - Wu's petition got smashed in the Council.
Have a nice day.
Cambridge, Somerville, and
By aaron.s.weber@g...
Wed, 04/24/2019 - 9:40am
Cambridge, Somerville, and many other cities charge for parking permits. It's not even controversial.
100% for this
By anon (not verified)
Tue, 04/23/2019 - 2:09pm
Parking in different neighborhoods since the 90s - don't mind paying for a permit at all. But the city then has to pony up and enforce it better and make those tickets high enough to discourage parking without one in all neighborhoods. They tend to look the other way in some of the more touristy areas (but will ticket residents who are an inch - literally - past a no parking past this point sign or more than 3 inches from the curb). So many cars in my neighborhood now (Allston) never move except when forced to by street sweeping.
So getting a 51% petition is
By anon (not verified)
Tue, 04/23/2019 - 2:30pm
So getting a 51% petition is too much work for residents to grab exclusive use of a public resource at the expense of nonresidents, and the city needs to eliminate this one task which guarantees the rules will be approved?
How much work is it for nonresidents to fight a permit parking petition, or make a permit street unrestricted again?
It's 51% of FIVE blocks last
By boxrox (not verified)
Tue, 04/23/2019 - 2:59pm
It's 51% of FIVE blocks last time I checked. Because of all the varying hours/availability within such a large area it would take days of time to hit 51%
Yeah, but you do it once and
By anon (not verified)
Wed, 04/24/2019 - 4:13pm
Yeah, but you do it once and then you automatically get the street forever. It has to be some number of households. Otherwise, each house could decide the rules in front of it, which would be ridiculous.
Meanwhile, nonresidents have no say in the process.
Has any such petition ever failed because 51% of residents explicitly said no?
Has any resident ever considered what the nonresidents are supposed to do once the street parking is restricted? Yes, they could walk, take the T, bike, take an Uber, or pay for off-street parking if it exists nearby. But so could the resident.
too low
By anon (not verified)
Tue, 04/23/2019 - 2:51pm
Getting towed once for street cleaning is $180+. If cleaning a little trash from under a parked car is worth $180, then that parking spot is worth a lot more than $25 a year.
$25
By anon (not verified)
Tue, 04/23/2019 - 3:04pm
says the woman who owns no car, but has kids and relies on public subsidies to get her and them around town. I hope she runs for Mayor so I can vote against her.
uh
By hux
Wed, 04/24/2019 - 9:17am
" relies on public subsidies to get her and them around town"
It's been said numerous times already on this thread, but you realize that is exactly what car owners do, right?
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/...
Good idea. About time. The
By Yup (not verified)
Tue, 04/23/2019 - 3:19pm
Good idea. About time. The city doesn't even recoup administrative costs on this, which is crazy. Fee should be higher but can be incrementally raised down the line.
It really is crazy indeed
By RalphM (not verified)
Tue, 04/23/2019 - 7:16pm
It really is crazy indeed that the city actually takes a financial loss on these stickers. People don’t expect ANYTHING to be free...except parking apparently. I’d suggest the bigger issue is needing to cap these permits per household, probably at 2. Beyond that, get a driveway or pay for a garage spot depending where you live.
The attack on urban working
By anon (not verified)
Tue, 04/23/2019 - 3:29pm
The attack on urban working and middle class families who are struggling to stay afloat in the cities continues. Soon only the wealthy will remain in Boston. What a shame.
agreed
By SC from JP
Tue, 04/23/2019 - 3:58pm
This proposed fee of (*takes out calculator*) SEVEN CENTS PER DAY to store your private vehicle on a public street is a true outrage and clearly a conspiracy to punish those who do not have $25 left over after paying for insurance, gas, maintenance, and, oh right, a car purchase.
You're free to pay more
By Roztonian (not verified)
Tue, 04/23/2019 - 8:07pm
It amazes me how people are so blah about government dipping into their wallets again and again.
Wow, some people have been conditioned.
And the beat goes on.
I don't think accusing people
By Mr Smith (not verified)
Wed, 04/24/2019 - 8:46am
I don't think accusing people of basically being sheep is necessary just because you want free parking. There are good reasons to charge for these permits. They cost the city money, they take up public space, and they're a privilege as opposed to a right. They also should limit them, which would benefit all of us who use on-street parking. This seems pretty common sense to me.
Who said free?
By Roztonian (not verified)
Thu, 04/25/2019 - 2:39am
I pay property taxes and excise taxes. Where is the free part again? I must have missed that while I was busy already paying taxes,...in Boston...where I own a home...and live.
You're right it's not free.
By Brad M (not verified)
Thu, 04/25/2019 - 3:30pm
You're right it's not free. It's actually highly-subsidized and unfairly so by a lot of people who do not own vehicles or don't park them on the public way but pay for you to be able to do so through their own taxes. We accept taxes for things like education or libraries because they benefit all of society whether we use them ourselves or not. The same cannot be said by any rational person about parking on the public way. In fact, it's almost certainly a negative effect on society but we tolerate it. So, a modest permit fee to park there is one way to start better accounting for that subsidization by the people who actually use it, which is the essence of a fee versus a tax. If you don't accept that, so be it, but that is the core of what this is about.
No exemptions
By anon (not verified)
Tue, 04/23/2019 - 3:42pm
I appreciate the interest in making the fee a bit more progressive, but get real.
1. It's $25/year, a small fraction of the total cost of auto ownership. It's not making or breaking the ownership of the car.
2. The cost of determining if a person qualifies is non-zero.
3. It opens the door up to fraud.
4. There are plenty of wealthy people who are 65+ (measured by wealth or income or whatevs). Why should they get a discount exactly?
5. Home health shouldn't be eligible for residential parking permits at all. Want to have a separate commercial permit? Have at it. For context, in Brookline the ability to park all day (not night) on the street is $20 for residents and $500 for commercial hang-tags.
6. BPS staff should have the same expectations of other people who work in Boston.
Handicap hang tag holders are already exempt. The rest should cough it up.
Exemptions = buying votes
By Lunchbox
Tue, 04/23/2019 - 3:55pm
Plain and simple.
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