OT: Parking Spaces

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spiderman

spiderman

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I don't know how many of you live in Boston, or in any city with this problem, but this is a hot topic right now.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/ma...boston_tradition_of_reserving_parking_spaces/

As a little side story, I actually know the person that I believe started this whole thing. Last winter this person returned home to find someone in her parking spot. She left them a note along the lines of "I don't remember you shoveling this spot", parked in another spot, and awoke to find her car vandalized. Not by the person who's spot she took mind you, but by the person whom she left the note for. So this person took her spot, and then vandalized HER CAR!!! She ended up calling the Cops, the Globe, and the Herald. It was a big story in the paper that weekend, and the next thing you know Menino is cracking down.

Personally I agree with the Mayor, I grew up in the suburbs, but ended up meeting a "city girl" and we have lived in the city ever since. I hate the parking situation, but I despise the reserving of parking spots after shoveling. I've been arguing with my neighbors about this issue the past couple of days. My view? If you want a freakin' parking spot MOVE TO THE SUBURBS. Now I can understand reserving it for a couple of days, but what happens is, it snows for the first time in December, and people literally keep putting their sh*t out there for the rest of the winter. It's ridiculous. So if you have a lousy parking spot a couple of blocks away from your house, you are basically stuck with it. And God forbid you move someone's object, because that person will then become the most insane, deranged, vandalizer you will ever come across. People lose their minds over this stuff, it's bizarre.

And basically that is why the Mayor is taking this privilege away. People can't be mature enough to handle it, and we can't have people's cars being destroyed because they took someone's parking spot away 2 weeks after it snowed.

Anyways this is a hot topic right now, and I didn't know if anyone else is going through this or has in the past.

That's my rant.
 
No it doesn't.



Spidey, I have never had to deal with the situation. The closest I ever came was living in Worcester for a time. My recollection is the city eventually came back by and plowed the sides where people were parked so it was never an issue.
 
For some reason that link isn't working when I try it.

Thomas: It isn't really "political" I'm not asking people what they think of the Mayor, I'm asking them, if they live in the city and shovel out a spot, should that spot then belong to them. What does that have to do with politics?

But if the mods think it's political feel free to move it. I figured it was OT, but not political.
 
spiderman said:
For some reason that link isn't working when I try it.

Thomas: It isn't really "political" I'm not asking people what they think of the Mayor, I'm asking them, if they live in the city and shovel out a spot, should that spot then belong to them. What does that have to do with politics?

But if the mods think it's political feel free to move it. I figured it was OT, but not political.
Click to expand...

Here's a link to the Herald version of the story:

This means war: Parking space battle gets nasty as city trashes rules of the street

This pic was taken yesterday. It's one of the more unusual ways to save a spot.
 
what do you guys think politics is??

what could be more political than a discussion of whether the government should enforce snow removal and parking regulations, or what the regulations should be?
 
The first url is just too long for this board to handle - it breaks no matter how I try to post it.

From today:
On parking markers, Southie, city dig in

Hey, I agree with the Mayor, but perhaps that isn't fair since I live in Hanover with an 8-car driveway. Maybe the suburbanites have too many opinions on this.

But I will say this......I think there's plenty of Southie folk that hate it too - you just don't see thiose folks on the news. You only see the yahoos who love it as a Southie tradition.

I worked in Southie from 89-91 or so and had to go in there for 5 years after that for work and I hated all those saved spaces. I needed to park for like 30 minutes yet I was always afraid of violating some local code and getting my tires slashed.....even though the "owner" was at work himself.

That sucks....plus it looks like shiat! If this is what the residents want....well, who am I to deny them this view?

1104401762_3924.jpg
 
thomas144 said:
what do you guys think politics is??

what could be more political than a discussion of whether the government should enforce snow removal and parking regulations, or what the regulations should be?
Click to expand...

Why is this bothering you so much?

I think your definition of what is/isn't political is too broad. I could post many things on this board that you could say are political.

As I said, this topic may have political ramifications, but I viewed it as more off topic, then political, and therefore chose to post it here. If the mods wanted to move it they could have, but apparently they see it the same way I do.

Why don't you go grab a cup of coffee and chill out for a few minutes. Are the holidays getting to you? o:)
 
It's because I think people who take parking spaces that were shovelled by others should be executed by lethal injection, and the Mayor should be impeached for trying to enforce the regulations that are on the books.

Or something like that.

Isn't that the sort of thing that people discuss in the political forum?
 
PatsWin2002 said:
The first url is just too long for this board to handle - it breaks no matter how I try to post it.

From today:
On parking markers, Southie, city dig in

Hey, I agree with the Mayor, but perhaps that isn't fair since I live in Hanover with an 8-car driveway. Maybe the suburbanites have too many opinions on this.

But I will say this......I think there's plenty of Southie folk that hate it too - you just don't see thiose folks on the news. You only see the yahoos who love it as a Southie tradition.

I worked in Southie from 89-91 or so and had to go in there for 5 years after that for work and I hated all those saved spaces. I needed to park for like 30 minutes yet I was always afraid of violating some local code and getting my tires slashed.....even though the "owner" was at work himself.

That sucks....plus it looks like shiat! If this is what the residents want....well, who am I to deny them this view?

1104401762_3924.jpg
Click to expand...

Yes, my wife has lived in Southie her whole entire life, I on the other hand have lived in a variety of different places around the country, it is a very unique place with unique people. Don't get me wrong I like it, but eventually we are planning on moving out to the suburbs. As soon as I can talk her into it.

I understand the people who feel that they should get the spot if they shovel it, but I have seen the following over the past few years.

-People putting barrels out at the first sign of snow. Which then causes everyone to put barrels out in order to keep from getting screwed.
-People putting barrels out with 2 to 3 inches of snow, and shovelling (needlessly) just to justify it.
-People smashing windows, slashing tires, and pouring paint on cars, etc. etc. (regardless of how mad I was, I'm still not going to turn into a criminal).

So basically what the mayor is saying is, "Since you can't be mature, you can't do it at all" And the residents of Southie don't like being told what to do. (I'll refrain from throwing out a "forced busing" comment here). Oops I just did. Sorry for the politics Thomas. :D
 
thomas144 said:
It's because I think people who take parking spaces that were shovelled by others should be executed by lethal injection, and the Mayor should be impeached for trying to enforce the regulations that are on the books.

Or something like that.

Isn't that the sort of thing that people discuss in the political forum?
Click to expand...
Years back, I lived on a street in Worcester where this used to go on. It was (probably still is) one of the crappier streets to live on, and the last one plowed (and even when they did plow, they usually only did it wide enough for one lane of traffic). I never liked this practice, becuase if you were at work, and got home late, you were SOL. I never took anyone's spot, because my one vice is having a nice car, and I didn't want it vandalized. I think Mayor Mumbles Menino probably found a reasonable compromise by only allowing people with connections to continue this practice, whereas eveyone else now has their lawn furniture removed.

BTW, I agree (at least partially) with Thomas in that this is definately a political topic. However, it doesn't bother me in the least that this thread is in the main forum. So far, I've only noticed the threads where Bush is mentioned, to be the ones that provoke so much venom that they need to be isolated.
________
Ford Windsor engine picture
 
Parking in Southie has always been a political issue.

Not long ago, a man died when his house blew up becouse he had emphazemia and was forced to used Oxygen to breath. The fact he was out on his deck smoking notwithstanding, The fire department couldn't get down the street to save his life becouse it was so narrow and the residents were parking on both sides.

Outraged, Mumbles decided to enforce "The Law" which in this case called for parking in southie streets to be non-existante.
He instucted the poice to give out tickets to every car illegally parked on those city streets. But when the fire-cheif's car and the Aldermans car and the Police cheif's car and the councilmans car and the judges car all turned up "Exempt" people went Balistic! And why shouldn't they? What made them so special that they could park in the same place everyone else was, and get away with it?

The prevailing factor was that if Mumbles wanted to ticket cars in Southie, He could do it his danm self! Just as I am sure that if Mumbles dosen't want those chairs and toilets and jungle jims and cones and plastic elephants in the street, Hell put up the money for snow removel.

Until then, The people of southie are happy with all that stuff in the street, and they are the ones who have to live there, So whats the issue?

Just remember, In Boston, It's not a trash can, it's a barrel.
And NEVER wear orange in Southie on St. Patrick's Day.
:jester:
 
Most cities don't allow parking on the street during snow removal operations. I remember living in Chicago which had a problem with cars parked on the street during snow removal from residential city streets at night. The city started hirings legions of tow trucks which worked at the direction of the police in towing cars so the city could clear the streets properly. There were a lot of complaints at first, but it worked well. Also when streets are cleared properly then emergency vehicles can get through and that is of the utmost importance to the city.
 
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