parking spaces

Hammond Residential is offering a deeded parking space for only $55,000. It's in a nice lot, well lit, plowed in the winter and all, but, gosh, why is it so much cheaper than spaces in Back Bay and Beacon Hill - especially since "This is the ONLY PARKING FOR SALE IN BROOKLINE?" Makes you wonder what else is wrong with the town.

A perplexed citizen notes conflicting parking signs on Beacon Hill:

The resident parking sign at the corner of River and Chestnut was recently modified to say "7am-7pm", with an arrow pointing forward. But the next sign has an arrow pointing backwards that says "7PM - 7AM". The two signs conflict with each other, creating a very confusing situation.

A concerned citizen reports the same commercial vehicle from a Brookline business keeps parking in a resident-permit spot on Cummings Road in Brighton:

This will be the fourth time in 2 weeks this brookline car has parked and been ticketed in residential permit area. Boot them!

The city responds, however, it is powerless to stop this parking fiend:

Vehicle is tagged it is a non towable violation and as long as they pay there tickets we do not boot.

A fed-up citizen grouses that three weeks after the blizzard, this space saver on East Cottage Street in Dorchester needs some D-I-S-R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

Compare this note left on a space saver, captured by Stephanie-Marie in Roslindale today, with this note, left on somebody's car whose driver dared to move a space saver in South Boston yesterday.

A concerned citizen complains about a stupid seltzermobile with no resident parking permit whose owner keeps parking it on Strathmore Road in Brighton.

Nestochan observed this statue on Montrose Street in Roxbury.

Marcelo, a roving UHub photographer, spotted this keyboard-stand space saver on Sanderson Place in Brighton this morning.

Earlier:
Random pianos will appear in random places this year.

This sign, at L Street and Marine Road in South Boston, left Steve Brady scratching his head.

Southie's so hot these days they've got Taylor Lautner guarding parking spaces, as Southie Spots discovered.

It's official: We suck. Boston Police report seven cases of post-blizzard parking-space vandalism across the city this week.

In most of the cases, tires were slashed. In one case, a window was smashed. In another, a plastic sawhorse was heaved at a car door. Two examples:

About 10:49AM, on Tuesday, February 12, 2013, officers from District D-14 (Brighton) responded to a radio call involving vandalism on Litchfield Street. On arrival, the victim told officers someone slashed one of her tires. Officers observed the victim’s car to be parked legally in a shoveled out spot in the area of 10 Litchfield Street. Victim stated that there were items placed in the empty parking space in an effort to “save” the spot which the victim says she moved prior to parking.

About 9:30AM, on February 12, 2013, officers from District A-7 (East Boston) responded to 163 Byron Street for a vandalism report. On arrival, the victim told officers that on Monday, February 11, 2013, he moved a chair from a parking space and then parked his car in the empty spot. When he returned to his car the next day, he discovered two flat/slashed tires on his car.

Incidents were reported in Dorchester, East Boston, Brighton, Charlestown and Roxbury, police say.

Caught in Southie reports, although since this is South Boston, naturally they were seen as bad guys and were caught and confronted and forced to put some of the chairs back instead of getting a proclamation from the city.

We learn that from the city's response to a citizen complaint about a potted-plant space saver in Charlestown.

Katken ran across this space saver in Jamaica Plain yesterday:

Much better than the usual orange cone, or broken chair, or the ubiquitous trash barrel.

Earlier:
Something needs to be done about the nouveau gauche in the South End.

Copyright Katken. Posted in the Universal Hub pool on Flickr.

Declares all parking meters free on Valentine's Day:

Whether you’re showering yourself, a friend or a special someone with love this Valentine’s Day, we want to make it as easy as possible for residents and visitors to spend some time and money at Boston businesses and restaurants tomorrow. Get out there and share the love!

Ed. note: Hmm, what about those of us who frequent business districts without meters? Will meter maids go around handing out quarters?

A shocked South End resident cannot believe this sort of sign is now popping up on places like West Brookline Street:

This is a highly disturbing sign. South End Neighborhood Associations do not support space savers. Please have DPW begin removing these items.

An outraged citizen reports from E. 4 St. in South Boston:

Spent 1.5 hours shoveling my elderly grandfather out in Southie. This New Yorker comes along and moves his statue and takes his spot! Give him a nice fat ticket courtesy of Menino! Yankees suck!

A confused citizen in Jamaica Plain seeks guidance from his municipal elders about that 48-hour period after the end of a snow emergency:

Does a parking spot placeholder negate a No Parking sign?

The kidlet and I went in search of creative space savers today. After quickly realizing people in Roslindale are pretty boring (cones, chairs and trash cans, yawn), we headed over to South Boston, of course. They did not disappoint, although I had to shoot fast - the drivers there seem to object to you getting out of your car for the perfect shot of a floral space saver.

Neal Doyle reports somebody in East Cambridge apparently had a spare plasma TV to use as a space saver this morning.

Tania deLuzuriaga photographed her neighbor's lazy-ass space saving on Savin Hill early in the storm.

Roving UHub photographer Rose captured the scene this afternoon on Webster Street in East Boston, where storm-ravaged residents were forced into desperate measures.

Well, I'm not the only person who browses citizen complaints. Yesterday, somebody complained about how people were putting out crap to save their parking spaces in snowfall that required a microscope to measure its depth and said it was all Menino's fault. Another citizen replied:

The person who posted this complaint sounds like an uneducated moron. Menino's health issues have nothing to with the complaint filed, our mayor has always done a great job running this city & still is.

With Boston snowfall currently measured in microns, somebody has already put out a space saver on Juniper Street in Roxbury.

UPDATE, 10:15 p.m. The city has closed the complaint, saying crews will go around collecting space-saving crap 48 hours after the snow stops. But wait just a second there! The city also announced there's no snow emergency. The last time we got snow, the city said residents could save spaces during the emergency but would have to remove their items within 48 hours after the emergency was lifted. But without an emergency declaration, doesn't that mean there's no right to save a space? Oh, the head, she spins.

Among other things, the declaration means you can't park on a snow-emergency route, but otherwise you can use a cone, chair, fan, toilet or stuffed animal to save a space on the street for up to 48 hours after the snow emergency officially ends.

Use this city mapping system to find out which of your local roads double as snow emergency routes and where you can park at a discount (with a resident parking sticker on your car).