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Out of towners could pay more to park on the street during Sox games

The City Council today approved a proposal to increase the fines for non-residents parking in resident-only spaces around Fenway Park from $40 to $100 during Red Sox games.

Councilor Josh Zakim, who represents the neighborhood, said the measure should help residents with parking stickers who come home to find all the on-street spaces filled with Sox fans - many of whom find a $40 fine a decent price to pay for game parking.

The measure, which requires the mayor's approval, would run through Dec. 31 as a pilot program.

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Comments

How is that allowed?

https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXIV/Chapter90/Sect...

"any fine established under the provisions of this section for all other parking violations shall not exceed $50"

There are higher limits in the law for fire hydrants, bus stops, and handicapped spaces.

And remember, most cities with resident parking allow nonresidents to park in any space, subject to a time limit or feeding a meter.

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Really? Can you point to a beach town around MA that allows nonresidents to park in their resident parking spots for a few hours to go to the beach?

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Most cities around the country. Not most Massachusetts towns.

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Yay!

We had asked for this throughout the Menino administration to no avail.

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Evaporating resident parking spots in the Fenway around Fenway Park has become a major problem. Bravo to the City Council on enacting this fine!

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It definitely discourages people to come into the city. Like the price of tickets, hot dogs and beer wasn't enough. I rather catch a PawSox Game.

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ProvSox (soon, at least).

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What part of this being a fine for ILLEGALLY PARKING IN RESIDENT SPACES do you not understand?

Suburbanites wouldn't tolerate strangers parking in their driveways. Why should city residents have to tolerate suburbanites ILLEGALLY parking in resident sticker parking space?

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...using bold, capitalized text to try and make a point should be illegal. It makes you look like a child or whoever writes the government conspiracy emails that my grandmother forwards, not really sure which is worse.

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...for idjits who don't pay attention to non-bold, lower-case text? Work on that.

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If you just presented a solid argument initially, you wouldn't have to yell or YELL to get your point across?

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I'm not the all-capser. I'm just someone who thinks you're being a bit of a jerk about it.

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Unlike suburbanites with private driveways, people with resident parking stickers do not own the public streets and, therefore, have no expressed or implied rights to be able to park on them at any time.

And if the CIty is going to increase fines, then the fine should be the same 24/7/365.

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People with resident parking stickers have a right to be able to park unless another person with a resident parking sticker is already there.

And if the CIty is going to increase fines, then the fine should be the same 24/7/365.

Hey, I'd be ok with that, because I don't park illegally. And you probably would too, because I expect you've got your own driveway in the burbs. But your appeal to evenly apply a regulation regardless of circumstances is disingenuous nonsense. You'd whine in E above high C if it was your ox being gored.

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People with resident parking stickers have a right to be able to park unless another person with a resident parking sticker is already there.

Or shoveled it.

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Do you think you own the road, man? We should start calling you the road man!

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Public streets are not driveways.

This LAW allocates a public resource to SOME members of the public for free, at the expense of OTHERS who have no political power to do anything about IT.

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In this case you are specifically talking about people who don't live in Boston. The Boston City Council doesn't owe them shit.

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No, it discourages people from driving to the city and expecting subsidized parking. How many games this season do you think won't be sellouts? You really think the Red Sox are suddenly going to have an empty ballpark because people cant illegally park in resident spots?

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It's incredibly cheap to park in the city, and who is it discouraging? I'd recommend you replace "people" with "me".

That said, the PawSox have a pretty stacked team this year, so enjoy!

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Don't come.

Unfortunately, too few people think like you, which means sold out games and expensive parking lots. Therefore, the only recourse the city has is to jack up the fines to make sure residents can park.

Also, Park and Yawkey League games are free, though if you BYOB you might get into trouble.

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There is excellent MBTA access to Fenway park at least until Baker guts that. The T is cheap. If you're coming from out of town you can always park at one of the distant T stations and take the train in.

But regardless, no one cares. Boston is booming. Real Estate is at record highs. Business are doing better then they have in years. The Sox are the highest priced ballpark in the country and they still manage to sell out most games.

So if the fact you can't get below-market rate on-street parking keeps you away no one is going to care. It sounds like you weren't shopping at any business except those run by the Red Sox anyway.

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Perhaps going TO the game, the Green Line may be marginally adequate. It's getting home FROM the game that's always a disaster.

Resident parking is nothing more than an entitlement program. And this new proposal is nothing more than another revenue grab by the City.

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I've seen the streets clogged and no one moving in cars for as long as I've been in the area. You spill 30,000 people out at the same time, yeah, there is going to be congestion on any method. Even walking is slow.

The proposal is completely a revenue grab by the city. Why is that a problem? The city should charge flexible rates such that the market determines the price.

BTW, my "excellent" comment was in comparison to the rest of the city. Obviously the T is severely lacking compared to most wealthy cities.

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It's not a revenue grab.

Menino refused to allow this to pass during his administration because of his cozy relationship with the team.

The neighborhood residents have been stuck unable to park when they come home from work on game nights because of fans and livery vehicles illegally parking in residential spots when the fine was cheaper than paying for a lot or garage spot. It is a major quality of life issue for residents.

There's no reason why a large number of fans should be driving to games and expecting cheap parking at residents' expense.

It's bad enough fans dump all their litter in the neighborhood because the don't want to take it home with them in their cars!

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then why isn't the ordinance "Cars illegally violating the Fenway neighborhood entitlement program parking in designated "resident parking" areas shall be immediately towed at the owner's expense" instead?

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Not that it matters that you asked it, as you suburbanites, by decamping from the city and/or keeping your areas out of the political entity that is the City of Boston, have decided that it is okay for us Bostonians to decide things without you.

However, why isn't this a problem in East Boston the same way? I guess if the BTD is planting tickets every day on cars suburbanites leave in Eastie when they head out through Logan, the numbers would add up quickly, and after a certain number of tickets towing could be an option.

For the rest of the city, it is probably balancing the desire to keep parking for the residents while not unreasonably penalizing scofflaws. When it is cheaper to get the ticket than to find a lot, the fines need to go up.

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The D line, the B line, the Worcester commuter rail, all the buses that go to Kenmore. And I usually walk from Ruggles (20 minutes +/-). So, yes, it is well served.

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And do they still have those commuter rail specials from/to Attleboro?

I'm sure the Ruggles-Fenway shuttle bus is long gone (I haven't been to a game since they won the World Series in '04.)

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...there are quite few buses that go from Ruggles to Kenmore-- some up Brookline Ave, some not. But if the day is nice enough for a game, it's probably a pretty day to walk through the Fens!

And you're right-- I forgot about the C line. Too much time living in Allston, I guess, not Brookline.

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I guess.

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This isn't a penalty on "out-of-towners", and it isn't a matter of raising the rates on people who park legally, either in public or private spaces/lots. The new regulation increases the penalty when someone parks in a resident space without a valid resident sticker during game times. It applies equally to someone whose car is registered in Weston, someone who has a resident sticker for a different Boston neighborhood, someone who lives in the Fenway but who didn't bother to get a sticker for their car, and it applies equally if they came to go to the baseball game or to eat one last Whopper at the famous Boylston Street BK.

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If somebody cannot figure out how to get to a balllpark serviced by three Green Line branches, the commuter rail, a zillion buses, cabs, and even Uber/Lyft, they have problems going beyond whether they can watch a baseball game.

(edited--corrected from 2 GL branches to 3)

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The enforcement of Resident Parking regulations in Boston with a higher citation cost will not deter any non-residents from attending a RedSox game.

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If you saw a sign that said that you'd be fined $100 if you parked there, would you park there? It's cheaper and probably more convenient to just park legally in a paid lot.

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Does it matter what the fine is if its not enforced? Boston doesn't enforce any parking or traffic laws except for meters. We have the most incompetent drivers in the country and nothing is done because its tradition.

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Are you aware that parking regulations and traffic regulations are enforced by different agencies?

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I am aware that the city of Boston oversees different agencies that don't enforce either.

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...that there's some entity called "the city of Boston" that has conscious volition and agency? Maybe you think the mayor marches down to every department and tells them what they'll do each day? This isn't Wasilla AK. And if you think there's no parking enforcement in Boston, all I can do is point at you and laugh.

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Isn't this just another form of space saving?

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It isn't. And you knew that when you posted.

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Just curious though, how is it not like space saving? Didn't we learn after all the talk of space savers being illegal because no one owns the street. No one can claim a space as their own.

So that said, why can't anyone park where it is legal to park? Or, am I misunderstanding and this new proposal will prohibit people parking in spots specifically designed for residential parking stickered cars, which would seem reasonable.

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spots specifically designed for residential parking stickered cars

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Yes, this only applies to spaces designated for resident-only parking. I'll make that clearer in the original post.

That having been said, Mayor Walsh said recently that replacing all of the city's parking meters with computerized units will let the city experiment with higher parking rates near Fenway Park on game days - something Brookline is already doing.

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Or, am I misunderstanding and this new proposal will prohibit people parking in spots specifically designed for residential parking stickered cars, which would seem reasonable.

Actually, that's already prohibited. What the new regulation does is increase the fines for people parking in such spots without a resident sticker.

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"Space saving" involves some asserting a particular right to a single space based on circumstances. Typically, the circumstances are temporary.

"Resident parking" involves designation sections of on street parking in a particular neighborhood for residents of said neighborhood. No one has a right to a particular section of on street parking over any other resident of the neighborhood. For example, both of us live in x, which has resident parking because we are close to the T. I can park in front of your house and vice versa. Also, there is a legal prohibition of drivers from outside of the area parking in designated areas. Space saving is more tradition and "common law". You will not get ticketed for moving somone's cone and parking, though I don't recommend it.

Got it, chief?

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Yes! Take public transportation, suburbanites.

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If you were going to drive to the Fenway Park area, regardless of date or time, would you ever find a spot? It's pretty much impossible as it is, especially in the neighborhoods. Those spots would most likely be taken by people who work at the events and bars, not people attending the events.

I mean, do people going to Red Sox games actually ever plan on finding parking spots on Peterborough St. or Boylston st? It would take you less time to park in Allston and walk probably.

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I mean, do people going to Red Sox games actually ever plan on finding parking spots on Peterborough St. or Boylston st?

They don't exactly count on being able to find a freebie space on the street, but many people do drive to the game and look for parking somewhere. Drive along Comm Ave outbound from Kenmore on a game night, you'll see them cruising along looking for a metered space for many blocks.

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The restriction isn't talking about metered parking, and I was picturing the Queensberry/Peterborough St. neighborhood as the one that is making the issue out of it. But I guess you can include the Buswell St. neighborhood as well, which is another area that never has parking regardless of time or date.

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I think it's a word of mouth thing. Many people drive to the games, and many of them drive there without a specific plan for parking. Many of them get tips from their fellow suburbanite about how you can park for free on this street and that street. Once they get there, they're running late, they want to get to the game, they spent all this money on these tickets and they want to get their drink on, and they see a parking space and grab it. In a metered spot, in a resident spot, whatever. Their next door neighbor says, "Oh yeah, I parked on this street over there and didn't get ticketed, I don't think they ticket there, I parked for free just two blocks from the ballpark", and word is out.

It's not just cars, either. Buses park there as well, and bus drivers profoundly don't give a damn about a $40 ticket.

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Overparking at a meter isn't a towable offense. Look around during a Sox game at the meters within about half a mile -- most all have a $25 ticket on them for "over meter limit." That's pretty cheap parking right near Fenway. I know the employees at the community health center have tried to get the city to tow these people, because it's pretty impossible for their patients to use the meters to attend appointments or pick up meds or whatnot during games, but the city won't work with them, just saying being past meter limit isn't towable. Why not make the fine for over meter limit become $100 after half an hour or something? There's a difference between running late when using meters appropriately and using them as your own personal parking for well over the allotted time.

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It should be $100 (or higher) at all times everywhere, not only for special fenway snowflakes.

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Where neighborhoods contain venues that attract hordes of people, this certainly seems reasonable. I don't think, though, that the need is as strong on some backwater street in Southie. If you feel that it is, though, do feel free to contact your city council representative. Fenway residents have been working on this one for many years, so if your neighborhood has a similar situation that justifies it, I wish you the very best of luck in your efforts.

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It is impossible to park in the North End anytime there is a game or event at the Garden.
Prime time for Parking Enforcement to ticket and the city to collect revenue from out-of-towners but you never see them when you need them.

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