Hey, there! Log in / Register
311 complaint of the day: Won't somebody think of Beacon Hill parkers?
By adamg on Thu, 10/10/2024 - 3:13pm
A concerned resident filed a 311 complaint about the current parking situation on Beacon Hill:
Beacon Hill resident parking is in extreme disarray. 6 or more streets completely closed for construction. Every other street has construction scheduled (aka no parking). This leaves almost no spaces to park because on top of that, we are getting towed by street cleaning. Please pause street cleaning in Beacon Hill. There is nowhere to park.
Neighborhoods:
Topics:
Ad:
Support Universal Hub
Help keep Universal Hub going. If you like what we're up to and want to help out, please consider a (completely non-deductible) contribution.
Comments
"The streets should be dirty
"The streets should be dirty because I made the terrible decision to bring a car to one of the oldest and most dense neighborhoods in America. I'm too lazy to walk the short distance to all 4 subway lines that are in or near my neighborhood. As an American car driver all things must revolve around me. I pay zero dollars to park yet I still complain"
Get a bike or take a walk. The place is covered y transit, . . .
But if you are elderly or disabled. Maybe the knees are a bit shaky, . .The cold and heat hit you much harder,. . .
Then
BUŹZ OFF BOOMER!
/sarc
Every time something like
Every time something like this pops up, there's always someone saying "but won't someone think of the disabled people". How many of the people who park in Beacon Hill have a disability or other impairment that requires a car? I strongly doubt it's all of them. In fact, if it were ONLY people who needed a car for disability or impairment purposes that were parking, I doubt we'd have this issue.
Don't hide behind disabled people to excuse all the able-bodied people who feel entitled to parking.
If you're living on a hill...
Granted, parts of it are flat - but I can't imagine there are many disabled people living in a neighborhood where they have to hike uphill on uneven brick sidewalks?
My townhouse has 3 flights of stairs
I wasn't handicapped when I bought it. Things change.
"Disabled" doesn't tell the whole story
I live within a 5-10 minute walk to 2 T stations. I used to take the T almost every day. I don't consider myself disabled. But I am now elderly and have issues where it just plain hurts to walk. My knee hurts. My hip hurts. My feet hurt. Sometime I use a cane. Sometimes I don't. I have a car. Standing on the T because there are no seats, hurts. Sometimes people offer me a seat. Often they do not. When I do use the T, I also have to face elevators and escalators that are frequently out of service and it hurts to take the stairs.
Driving a car does not hurt. Walking hurts.
I park on the street. I pay real estate taxes on my house and my taxes pay for among other things, the streets that I park on. I can not afford to park in most garages, and for that matter, there are no garages or paylots in my area.
There are many of us with mobility problems ranging from painful walking and standing, or walking with a limp, all the way to living in a wheelchair. I don't know how many of us there are but there are a lot of us. A person can have mobility issues but not qualify for a handicapped sticker.
Some of you who are younger may not realize that pain due to arthritis or pinched nerves and other problems tend to increase as you age, and your ability to walk becomes more problematic. And a car is often a lifeline that replaces the T.
I am really sick and tired of one particular commenter on Uhub calling me lazy and evil because I live near a T station but use a car. Calling me lazy is a lazy comment that assumes I am as able as the commenter.
I for one think this request to suspend street cleaning is a reasonable request. Disagree if you want, but don't downplay my pain and don't criticize me for driving a car and parking on the street. It's all too real.
Well stated and true.
Sadly many people lack any understanding of what you describe.
What is handicapped parking for?
If you need reserved parking then fill out the forms and get it. Every street I have ever lived on in Boston has a handicapped space, and that's what they are for.
My take has always been that Beacon Hill is too wealthy for reserved parking. You can keep your car but your maid's back also hurts and she is carrying a vacuum. If you can't afford a parking space, then you can't afford a car.
It is egocentric to believe that parking is more important than street cleaning.
Just because
one has a placard for accessible parking does not guarantee receipt of one by one's home.
https://www.boston.gov/departments/disabilities-commission/how-apply-acc...
Are you saying that the
Are you saying that the requirements are unfair? Because it seems pretty easy.
I have to agree with this.
We cater far too much to car owners. Making more concessions to them hurts mobility challenged people way more than helps the few of them that are privileged enough to own a car.
I say this as someone who has in the past and is presently suffering from injuries that affect or affected my mobility and were either entirely or partially caused by scofflaw drivers or by motor vehicle exhaust. I deeply sympathize with anyone with mobility issues trying to get around Boston. Especially on narrow Beacon Hill sidewalks. Which, by the way, should be made safer and wider by eliminating on street parking.
As far as allowing trash to accumulate, that’s not only offensive to suggest pedestrians should tolerate it, it’s unsafe.
No
I was just repeating what is found on the site of the link I gave:
No need to look for an argument.
then stop
then stop
OK
OK mom.
I for one think this request
Suspend it until when?
The more people don't drive ...
The easier it is for people with disabilities to get around by any mode.
Abled bodied people driving giant mobility devices does zero for people without choices. Add in cars parked on ramps and sidewalks and the like and it just gets harder.
Leaves
Nope. Especially not now in the fall... leaves!
Beacon Hill is well known for its picture perfect tree lined streets that are gorgeous in the fall.
But when we get a cold heavy fall rain, those leaves will clog street drains, thus some minor flooding. I mean OMG we skip street cleaning and this posters car might get flooded and damaged. . o O (oh wait this is a bonus) O o .
Jokes aside, we have street cleaning for not only trash, but to help remove debris that would clog up storm drains and such. This is why stopping street cleaning, especially now in the fall, is such a bad idea.
Beacon Hill resident here.
Beacon Hill resident here. This complainant doesn’t speak for me. There are plenty of places to park. There are the garages at MGH. There is the garage under the Common. There are private garages.
Sounds like the person subscribes to the belief that the rest of us owe him or her free parking on public property, which is not a belief I share
I’m curious about parking at
I’m curious about parking at MGH garages. I thought even employees of MGH can’t park at the main MGH garages. How would a resident of Beacon Hill be able to do so?
Ableism is not equity.
Ableism is not equity.
Driving and disability
How exactly did driving become synonymous with movement for people with disabilities. Many disabilities prevent people from driving. Cars that cater to people with disabilities are extremely expensive.
Actual disability advocates are focused on things like curb cuts, wider sidewalks, elevators in transit stations etc but drivers have convinced themselves that general parking is somehow an accessibility issue. It’s absurd.
Anyone with a relevant
Anyone with a relevant disability can ask the city to designate a handicap placard space on the street near their house.
Claiming ableism to excuse
Claiming ableism to excuse able-bodied entitlement isn't equity either.
What's most offensive on the Hill
Is the very tacky sign hanging over the wooden fence on Storrow advertising The Advent School.
I think a lot of people would
I think a lot of people would say storrow drive itself is most offensive thing in Beacon Hill, the wall that keeps people from easily accessing the river parklands except at a few inconvenient bridges you have to walk over the highway.
“Extreme disarray”
Who says that?
And isn’t it the chauffeur’s problem?
I get confused about Beacon Hill...
The Front of the Hill (Beacon Street) - Multi-million dollar brownstones and condos.
The Side of the Hill (Charles Street) - Million dollar brownstones but they're mostly apartment for rent.
The Back of the Hill (Cambridge Street) - Multi-million dollar brownstones and condos.
Then there's all the stuff in-between. What's going on in there rental/ownership wise? I know they're not all brownstones.
But every building is worth
But every building is worth millions
Location, location, location!
Location, location, location!