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The Great Removal begins Monday
By adamg on Wed, 02/25/2015 - 8:06pm
DPW workers will begin removing parking space savers as part of regular trash pickup starting on Monday, the mayor's office announced today.
Mayor Walsh asked residents who have their space savers removed to not simply go into Lord of the Flies mode:
If you spend hours digging out your parking space, you should have access to that space for a reasonable time period. I’m asking residents to remain respectful of their neighbors and their property as the process of space saver removal begins, and as we continue to clean up from nearly 8 feet of snow in less than 30 days.
”
Except, of course, in the South End, where the city approved a total ban on space savers that has been regularly ignored.
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Comments
Let's hope
Hopefully they also plan to remove the piles of snow taking up a space or two on every block (more so on some blocks with 5 foot snowbanks separating some saved spots). Thankfully for some on my street they'll be alright since they can't move their cars as they're boxed in by snow behind them by intersections, and the car in front of them that has an 8 foot snow pile in front of it.
Keep dreaming. Streets are
Keep dreaming. Streets are being cleared because utility providers like N'tl Grid and Everclear/N'Star are throwing money at the City's problem in order to keep their infrastructure from completely collapsing under 9 feet of snow that could've been dealt with, if only we hadn't sent every truck to Boylston Street to clear it for a fucking parade!
When you now see side streets in Boston being cleared, it is because ISD or BTD is holding a permit hostage; "We'll sign off on your toilet renovation, or a crane to clear your flat roof, or your handrail replacement to meet ADA-requirements, but only if you clear the street of snow for us—first!"
Hesford's office is essentially blackmailing private businesses into paying for snow removal that, by rights, is Boston's responsibility. I get that he's in a jam (Marty just had to have his ridiculous parade), but it's unfair all 'round and only results in resentment toward BTD and City Hall.
I can't wait for an Olympics!
Famous Uhub Quote
"Got a citation for that"
Seriously, can you backup any of what you say?
PS - Everclear is grain alcohol.. but after looking at my last NStar bill, I'd need a shot of ever clear.
This site rallies against
This site rallies against spot markers yet encourages outdoor fire pits. Both are illegal in the city, with the exception of a 48 hour waiver for markers. Why does this site support one illegal activity and not the other? So is it ok to support the people who set open fires in the city but not the ones who put an orange cone in a parking spot?
I guess you support the laws you like and ignore the ones you do not. I guess one word come to mind, hypocrite.
(Before you say open fires don't hurt anyone, look at the fire in the Back Bay that killed two firefighters in March caused by flying amber.)
False equivalence of the day award
Congratulations! You win today's False Equivalence Award, by pretending that two things that have one thing in common are equally bad.
Oh, and when those snowbanks are set ablaze by firepits, you can come back here and say "I TOLD YOU SO!" until then, stifle it.
Comparison is reasonable
In a neighborhood where much of the housing stock is made of wood an open pit fire could result in a house catching flame. It only takes a combination of very dry wood and wind carrying burning embers to the wood. Open fires also release CO2 and CO into the air. Or are Bostonians with firepits exempt from responsibility for the cause of global warming as well as acid rain that is slowly destroying the stone of historic buildings?
Add the smoke that neighbors are forced to deal with in their homes. I can smell the smoke from my neigbhor's fire pit.
Space savers are a temporary problem. Excessive CO2 is a longer problem.
Compare the two with more than a shallow observation and I suggest that fire pits are actually a worse problem given the long term effects.
On the other hand the problem of space savers is due to the number of vehicles. If the quantity of vehicles was reduced then there would be less demand for parking.
Perhaps the greater problem are the excessive number of cars.
Snowbanks lit by fire? A non-sequitor having nothing to do with the question. Anyone is welcome to use a firepit? Well anyone is welcome to use a public space (damage to a car or not - it's still a public space). Plus most landlords having any sense will forbid fire pits (unless they want to loose their building insurance).
I enjoy reading about the antics over space savers. Not having a car I don't have a dog in the fight. Although if an emergency vehicle or repair person needed a parking spot near my home and they needed a spot occupied by a space saver I would gladly chuck the space saver. And then gladly meet who ever was bothered by loosing "their" space in whatever duel they choose. If private-public parking spaces are so important then put the conflictto a duel. Whoever runs first looses the parking space (I will remember to bring along other neighbors who are sick of the greedy SOBs who think they own a piece of the asphalt).
You're forgetting
Parking on a PUBLIC street vs fire on PRIVATE property! Plus anyone is welcome to use a firepit.. parking, you'll get your tires slashed.
Big difference there buddy.
That fire was caused by
That fire was caused by incompetent welders.
Do SUVs count...
...as space savers in Marty's world?
Cambridge
It's starting to get to be comical - the great lengths people will go to keep their precious parking space on the residential streets between Harvard and Davis. I park on mass ave every night because of the convert operations going on in front of my apt. I watched a guy tonight come outside and move his trash cans so his wifey could pull right into "her" spot. What is normally plenty of parking for all, is literally no available parking now. The street is an even mix of space savers, abandoned cars, and snow piles.
I'm tempted to set up a sting operation by stealing a saved space and then waiting until the owner comes home to see what exactly they do about it but I think that would be ruled entrapment. I wish someone would get caught in the act of vandalizing over a stolen spot. How embarrassing that would be.
I want to see Judge Judy decide who's right
Can you imagine the vandal being caught and then having the case (because he pleads innocent) being transferred to "Judge Judy"?
"Sir! Sir! I am talking! Sir! Just because you left a chair out in a public road does not entitle you to that part of the road. Sir!"
Granted, it's all scripted beforehand but I would watch that particular episode anyway.
Hogwash
I was on Judge Mathis once. I can't speak for Judge Judy, but Mathis ain't scripted.
Only if you feel comfortable,
Only if you feel comfortable, of course, but can you share any of your experience? I find this utterly fascinating.
They flew me to Chicago
I sued a former roommate in small claims in Cambridge. The show caught wind of my action and offered me a spot on the show.
I won three months of back rent and got paid a few hundred bucks for my appearance. It was a little embarrassing, but hey, I was 19-20 years old. It was a good early adulthood lesson in roommate relations. I'd love to go back in time and smack 19 year old me across the face.
Not really entrapment.
Not really entrapment.
unless you're a LEO
not entrapment.
Don't ever forget this - cops
Don't ever forget this - cops are townies. They think you are an asshole for moving space savers. They will laugh in your face if you call them because someone broke the law to retaliate against you for deciding you've had enough of the system the rest of the neighborhood has been using for decades.
I'm hearing from coworkers
I'm hearing from coworkers that people are just parking at the T stations, like Alewife, because there just isn't any street parking.
That's probably why they are closing the lots (full) by 8:30am!
Alewife max parking time
Alewife has a sign that says maximum time allowed is 7 days. How would that be enforced? I am guessing there are a lot of people following the strategy you describe.
Usually places enforce that rule
by driving a car with visual plate scanners around, so they can identify which plates have been in the same spots for too long.
Though in this situation, I could see the police letting it slide a bit, since there is literally nowhere for people to put their cars.
Even if they did enforce the
Even if they did enforce the rule to the letter, all you have to do is go on the evening of day 7 and pull a u-turn at the exit. I don't think they are enforcing it anyway. If you owned the lot, which would you prefer? 2700 cars parked all the time racking up fees or 2700 cars coming in and out all day covered in snow, sand, and salt?
That is why the T has been announcing
for the past week that "limited parking" is available at the garages. Because they pulled an idiotic move - for political reasons - to let local residents use the garages instead of commuters.
DPW
Can't remove snow or weekly trash pickup how are they going to tackle the space savers?
Not exactly, Adam...
What Southenders have discovered thus far is that during probably the worst possible winter in decades that our effort to try and eliminate the use of space savers has resulted in the vast majority of SE neighborhoods relatively free of space savers (with only intermittent outliers on occasion in relatively free areas of the SE) and a hard core 15-20% that refuses to give them up. In fact, we found that after the Mayor suspended the 48 hour rule, that 15-20 actually grew for a couple of days until the contractor came by and collected all savers on the street.
Most careful observers (including independent reports from PWD staff who were monitoring space saver use in the SE) and trust me, we've been looking very carefully have pretty much agreed that we now have specific educational target areas of the SE where we intend to do an intense awareness campaign next year to try to crack that 15-20%.
But with around 80% support, that's hardly a reflection of an entire neighborhood that regularly ignored the initiative--at least so far. And regrettably, we've had 4 documented and reported incidents of vandalism so far (and today reimbursed the victims for their out of pocket expenses from donations of caring Southenders and others across the city). We never thought we would be able to achieve success in one year, but just drive down any residential street in Dorchester or Southie and then do the same in the South End and see if you think the ban has been largely ignored.
And this week the other downtown neighborhood associations (Back Bay, North End, Bay Village, Beacon Hill, Chinatown) are debating a formal proposal to ask the city to join with the South End in banning space savers on any of their neighborhood streets.
I'd say the glass is half full looking forward.
i boweth 'ere thou, mine king
To the unwash'd plebs of Dorchester and Southie, pleaseth headeth the words of our dear lord Southend'rs, who doeth not parketh whence 'tis f'rbidden, except f'r when they parketh in the middle of the street on Columbus because they art Southend'rs and the rules only apply when they art not trying to gain moral superiority.
the great removal---?
I hope they will remove the snow too-- or allow us to break up and push some of the giant piles of snow/ice into the street (esp on the sunny days?) to make more parking spots.
It's like playing chicken going around so many of the corners of our small streets and between cars.
Cant we help break it up for trucks to take it away along with all the trash.
South End looks like crap
Even JP is better done, parking spaces are neatly shoveled and piled up. The South End is chaos compared to the rest of the city. People just pulled their cars out and slammed them back in at weird angles. Every day at lunch I'm pushing a car with some rich Venezuelan family out of a parking spot with a foot of ice and slush in it.
Trash pick up?
What is that? Our building in Back Bay hasn't had trash picked up in almost a month.
Do they mean snow removal? Oh
Do they mean snow removal? Oh, that's a funny joke by me! Removing space savers is so much more important than removing snow mountains from neighborhoods or ticketing homeowners who still haven't shoveled.
Its pretty hard to remove
Its pretty hard to remove snow from the sides of streets when they are clogged up with the garbage space saver lunatics put there.
Not really
A cone weighs, what, 5 pounds tops. Pick it up and move it to the side of the road.
It's what occupies the spaces when the savers are not there (cars) that would slow snow removal on the side streets, or any street for that matter.
Of course, my guess is that the saver haters just think that when people return to their homes to find someone in the spot they dug out, they can just spend another hour or so shoveling out more snow from the street until it is all gone.
Remove the snow Marty and we wont have to use spacesavers
Ha Ha Marty. Lots of spacesavers are also a functioning trash barrels. So the trash guys will empty them and put them back where they will remain as spacesavers.
My street is a narrow 2 way street that is today a 1 way street due to the snow. (But the cars are still moving in 2 directions, causing conflicts and safety problems). If Marty would remove the snow down to or near the curbs, we wouldn't have to use spacesavers. and the street could start functioning safely again as a 2 way street with more that enough parking spaces.
The problem right now with parking is beyond severe. Parking on my street is usually easy, but the situation is FUBAR in the last month. There are no extra spots anywhere, so I'll keep using my spacesaver until the city either removes enough snow, or until it melts sometime this summer. And all you who object to this practice can continue to clutch your pearls. Spacesavers are necessary for basic survival. Instead of whining, try actually shoveling out your own friggin space. By the time you finish, I guarantee you will realize the value of a spacesaver.
Btw Marty, when you start the grand removal , people will arrive home from work on trash day to find their spacesaver gone, and maybe someone parking in their space. Many people wont even realize that the city did it. Vandalism and retribution will follow, and it will be a lot worse than it is today.
Amen
.
The Great... Snow Removal?
The Great... Snow Removal?
a boy can dream, can't he?
Seriously though, when are we going to implement alternate-side snow emergency parking?
Alternate side snow emergency parking
was in effect in Boston for years until Menino just stopped it 3 or 4 years ago. It worked well on my street. We coordinated it among the neighbors and we stopped the plow drivers if we saw them and made sure they concentrated on getting as close to the curb as possible. I don't know why Menino stopped it. Walsh should consider reinstating it, although I am not sure it would have worked in this past month, because the sheer volume of snow has overwhelmed all removal efforts.
I never liked it
In theory, it's a great idea, but I lived on the right hand side of a one way street, and they never changed the angle of the plow blade. I hate to be that guy, but all they ended up doing was plowing in my sidewalk, which is my I encourage neighbors to park in front of my house.