What a Racket!

For the most part I love living in Somerville, but there are some things that just really piss me off.

For example the racket they have going on with the parking situation.

Every year I have to get a permit for $12 (resident and 2 guest)- I am ok with that, but the permit has to renew in March because 'that is the zone' WTF!? So when I first got the permit in November or whenever I first got it a few years ago - I paid $12 for 4 months, then had to pay another $12 in March again! It's not a lot of money, but still if I get a permit for a 'year' it should really be for a 'year' not 2 months, for 4 months - 12 months!!! Today I was in the parking clerks office and the woman next to me just moved here and was getting on and they told her the same bullshit - oh you can't get this July-July - this is only good till March - it's your 'zone'.

Then there are the parking tickets because of 'street cleaning'. If it rains they don't clean the streets, but still ticket!!!! So I can't go on vacation for a week without bringing my car, because I have to move my car at least 2 times a week because of street cleaning 12am-6am two nights a week. Which of course creates a parking nightmare when you can only park on one side of the street overnight. If you forget they of course are quick to ticket.

Then there is the wonderful $30 or maybe even now $50 ticket for 'parking too close to an intersection'. What I love about this one is that we park in the same spot almost every day. Occasionally we have gotten this ticket, most of the time we don't. So I don't understand how only sometimes it's too close, but the other 90% of the time it's totally fine. Must be around end of the month quota time - lets screw residents that park in this same spot every day. I suggested fighting the ticket, bf thinks that is just a bigger waste of time. OH and I should add by 'intersection' they mean a very small one way side street with no light. RIGHT - definitely screwing up traffic at an 'intersection'! OH and the you parked here longer than 2 hours ticket is great. I parked in the same spot every day for about a year. Then one day (around labor day/moving time for college students) - I got a ticket! For violating the 2 hour limit! I literally had parked there every single day for a year without one! And I have never gotten that ticket again either!

Snow emergencies are another joy - first a $100 ticket if you don't make it home in time from work [or wherever you were off to when they declared it] to move your car, then a tow ride on top of that. WOO HOO! Oh and then when you go to the other lots to park, once the ban has been lifted you have 2 hours to get your car out of the lot or MORE tickets/towing. Gotta love it.

Which all leads me to today. I went to go get the parking restriction signs I need to allow a truck next to my building to move out ($10). My guess is I need them for a maximum of 3 hours (maybe less). My new condo has a driveway so I will just have the moving truck pull into that. So all I need were 2 of those restriction signs to hang up on my street for the movers. I have a front lot in my building, but it's slanted so I figured it would just be easier to park on the street - which now that I'm thinking about it - is also slanted. Whatever.

When I moved in I got the 2 signs - hung them up and the movers moved everything in quickly. I fill out the form to get the restriction which BTW they ask for my SS number? UM no don't think so - there is no reason you need my SS number for a 3 hour parking restriction!! WTF!? Then the lady tells me there is a new policy that I have to pay $25 to get a temporary moving van permit for EACH street and then the parking restriction signs for each street. UM no I'm not paying an additional $60 so Somerville can make even more money off me. I said when I moved in I only needed the restrictions - and I already paid for visitor permits. She says yea - you can't use those anymore we changed the rule 2 weeks ago. I mean really. What a bunch of bullshit. For years and years - they made $10 for parking restriction signs, and people probably put their guest parking permit in the window of the moving van. Now suddenly they need to charge $25 per day per vehicle, per street (one moving from and then one moving to)?

Why can't they find better ways to generate revenue than by scamming their residents on parking???? WTF!! So now I'm just going to have the moving van park in my lot on the hill and deal with it. I refuse to waste money on bullshit like that - oh that wouldn't have cost me almost anything 2 weeks ago.

The Boot

Oh man I feel so bad for people when I am driving down the street in Somerville and I see the dreaded boot on their car. I don't know how many tickets you have to get - to get the boot, but it's got to be a lot.

And walking out and seeing the boot on your car has to suck big time.

I mean on the one hand - one should try to avoid tickets, and if they are unfortunate enough to get one - just pay it and be done with it. But on the other - knowing they blew off paying their ticket doesn't stop me from feeling a little bad about the boot.

What if you don't have the money right then and there? Now you have no cash, and no way to get around to get some!

Today I saw 2 different cars with the boot.

Ah the joys of parking in Somerville...

After such a lovely commute home yesterday I get home to find that my building hasn't been plowed. AT ALL. ahhh the joy!

I attempted to drive up the driveway which may be a 90 degree angle. I slid back into the street, narrowly missing pedestrians. Finally I gave up and parked next to the dumpster - the only spot my piece of shit car could pull into. Perhaps it's time to upgrade to 4WD?

Relieved to finally be home after an over 3 hour commute I didn't think about how my car/spot would look like in the morning. I went into the building and called the management company to send out a plow. It's been snowing for 5 hours already, why hadn't anyone come by yet?

This morning I wake up and it's as if I have been plowed in on not one side, but all four!!!! how is this even possible? After an hour long struggle I managed to shovel myself out and get out of my spot and get to work.

Now I can only imagine what the state of the parking lot will be like when I get home from work. They never properly de-ice the lot at my building so I'm sure most of the cars won't be able to make it back into the lot tonight to park so we'll be fighting for spots out on the street, or the 2 open spots in the lot. Which means I need to leave work early if I even stand a chance of getting one of them. UGH

Why can't the building people come over and plow out the cars and help clean up the lot so we can actually get in and out? I mean we pay enough in rent! Shit that's the least they can do! Often our sidewalk isn't shoveled very well either. I'm surprised the building doesn't get fined.

At my previous building that I lived in Brighton the super would snow blow out each of our spots it was fantastic!!! Why can't this place have the guy snowblow us out? The lot is always a mess and since there are so many huge snow piles and people can't fucking drive or park right the spots are reduced from 36 to about 15.

Ah the joys of winter in Boston and parking in Somerville.....