The Davis Square Community

Ron: The secret lies in the type of call we set up. An "Outreach" call goes once to every primary number listed. If there's no live answer, the call goes immediately to voice mail. On "Priority" calls, however, the call is placed at least once to every number we have for every household and business. If the system can't get a live response, only then does it go back to the top of the list and start leaving voice mails.

Another common issue: If the system hears a lot of background noise (kids, loud TV, or -- in the case of cell phones -- street traffic)it sometimes "thinks" you're talking and resets. If you encounter this problem, say "hello" once and cover the mike end of your phone.

Connect CTY isn't perfect but it's MUCH better than any other auto-dialing system I've ever used -- and I've used a few.

From:

ron_newman

Thanks, I never realized this. By the way, if someone wants to remove an e-mail address or phone number from your system, is there a form for this purpose?

From:

Best/fastest way to update an earlier registration is to call 311 -- but if we have your number because we got it from a commercial landline list (i.e., you never registered but you're getting calls anyway), then all we have access to is the number itself. (The name and address is withheld for privacy reasons.) In that case, please email your number directly to me -- tchampion@somervillema.gov -- and I'll use my mysterious superpowers to clear your number from the system. Or just leave me a voice mail at 617-625-6600 x2620.

From:

ron_newman

Thanks again. (I'm happy to stay on the list, but can imagine someone else eventually wanting to be removed. At this point, I can't even remember whether I registered for this service or not.)

From:

ron_newman

Also, if you've moved your car to a metered municipal parking lot, meters start at 8 am (except Sundays and holidays, when they're not in effect at all).

From:

Jackie Rossetti and Lesley Delaney Hawkins are both authorized Connect CTY users (as was Maeghan Silverberg before she was elevated to the celestial heights of the Attorney General's office). Think of them as more presentable, nicer-sounding versions of me.

I have enjoyed being the "Voice of Somerville" -- but it wouldn't be a good idea for me to be the only one with the keys to this car. Now I can get hit by a bus and the city will still find out about broken water mains, street detours and snow emergencies.

PS I want to apologize to m_b_w and anyone else who thought I was too sarcastic and snippy in Friday's posts. It had been a long week, and I hope you'll forgive me.

From:

They should change their names to Jackie Champion and Lesley Champion. Otherwise how will we know they have mysterious super powers?

From:

ron_newman

None of them have a name that's as fun to say as yours, though.

From:

an-art-worker.livejournal.com

I think you should have an action figure made. I'd buy one.

From:

derekp.livejournal.com

How do I go about signing up for these robo calls?

From:

Sign up for snow emergency email alerts (http://www.somervillema.gov/Section.cfm?org=COMM&page=775)

Sign up for telephone notifications of snow emergencies and other issues (http://citizen.somervillema.intelligovsoftware.com/Default.aspx?serviceid=24539)

You can also call 311 to sign up for any of the above.

From:

Oh, yay! I hope this means I don't have to worry about street sweeping this week, even though it's 3rd Thursday on my street and that's this Thursday. That would make me very happy. Especially since it seems highly unlikely that the snow will be magically gone from the streets by Thursday.

From:

yes, the message says that there will be no more street sweeping enforcement until April. I'm so glad they clarified this for us!

I think it would be great if it were made official policy that the first declared snow emergency ends the street sweeping enforcement season, only seems to make sense, right?

From:

I don't know about that -- if you think about last Thursday's storm, all that snow would probably be gone by now if we hadn't had another storm on Sunday. If Sat and Sun had both been in the high 30s/low 40s with no precip, the streets would be clear by today and it would be totally possible to do street sweeping. It's just the combination of cold temps plus a second storm that made things so bad for today. So your proposed policy would probably be a bit too general.

From:

I see your point aquaflame -- but I'm guessing that what you mean is "first declared snow emergency or December 31st -- whichever comes first." Otherwise, last year's sweeping season wouldn't have ended until March!

Also, what happens if we get a snowstorm in mid-November, and then we get six weeks of dry weather? The streets would get nasty fast, which is exactly why the city decided last year to extend the regular season to December 31st. The last few winters have been much milder.

Of course, making rules about something as capricious as the weather is always going to be an exercise in imperfection. We're doomed-ed before we start.

Okay, back to the press releases for me.

From:

josephineave.livejournal.com

We could always get the snowstorm like Buffalo did last year -- October 13th. A bit too early in the fall to call it quits.

From:

"but I'm guessing that what you mean is "first declared snow emergency or December 31st -- whichever comes first." Otherwise, last year's sweeping season wouldn't have ended until March!"

lol! yes, I definitely meant OR Dec. 31st!
Hmm, I thought a snow emergency couldn't even be declared until December?

I totally get that making rules in relation to the weather is always somewhat of an exercise in futility.
I guess the best thing is really just communication. I was really glad to get the call today clarifying the end of street-sweeping, but I know some people were wondering this last week, so I think the key to having the most cooperation between drivers and the city and the least pissed off drivers is just to be clear and communicate whenever possible. We just really hate being left in the dark not knowing what we need to do or don't need to do in order to avoid ticketing/towing.

From:

and actually, to clarify further, I specifically meant "the first declared snow emergency in December" but realize I didn't actually say that.
I was really just thinking in terms of how to deal with the new extension of the street sweeping season when there is snow in December, unlike last year, when clearly it wasn't an issue.

From:

rethcir.livejournal.com

Ding, dong, the necessary evil witch is dead!

From:

secretlyironic.livejournal.com

So, theoretically I am supposed to move my car every 48 hours. But it's totally walled in by enormous piles of ice. How do I avoid a ticket?

From:

maelithil.livejournal.com

Buy a shovel and bribe some friends.

From:

tut21.livejournal.com

I hate that rule too. I'd recommend keeping your car shoveled out and cleaned off so it looks like it has been used during the past few days.

From:

secretlyironic.livejournal.com

Yeah, I tried, but the ice is pretty impenetrable. I chipped away at it for about ten minutes and didn't get anywhere. I've put salt around it now, so we'll give that a few hours to work and then I'll try again at around noon.

From:

unbelman.livejournal.com

Can one park at a meter over night? There is NO parking on my street and I found a spot in the Day street lot. I'd pay until 8:00 when the meter turns off, but the meter says "3 hour parking limit." Does that apply only from 8:00 AM - 8:00 PM?

I need to be at work at 7:00, so it MIGHT be great

From:

ron_newman

Yes, 3 hour limit means that's as long as you can pay for at one time.

From:

Overnight you're good from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. -- no additional coinage necessary. Load the meter now and walk away.

From:

ron_newman

I thought Davis Square parking lot meters started at 8 am, not 7 am. (Not that it matters to

unbelman)

From:

You're right - it's 8 a.m. But unbelman will be long gone by then. :)

From:

ron_newman

Thanks. It's really cool that you're on LiveJournal, by the way ;-)

From:

apricot3.livejournal.com

Wow it is really awesome that you're on LJ! I just moved to the area a few months ago (hence being new to this Community journal) and was amazed that the city sent me an email, I didn't even remember supplying one. Is it a standard that during snow emergencies you park on the odd numbered side of the street? I had wondered about the street cleanings for the rest of the month too, good to know.

Saturday morning I was parked in what i Thought was the resident part of the street but ended up being a metered spot that I couldn't see because of the snow. How do I go about appealing this ticket when I'm always working at the time the office is open (I have three jobs)?

From:

The appeals procedure is on the ticket or online here: http://www.somervillema.gov/section.cfm?org=traffic&page=356
You can do it in writing and you should specify that the meter was invisible/inaccessible due to snow when you parked. Let me know how it turns out.

From:

rigel.livejournal.com

Are you sure about street sweeping being over? I just received my weekly e-mail from Boston Sweeper claiming they're doing street sweeping (on the side my car is on, hence my noticing). I'd really prefer not to move my car until Thursday when I have to clear it anyway.

Edited Date: 2007-12-18 02:32 pm (UTC)

From:

ron_newman

Sounds like the city needs to tell Boston Sweeper of the change.

From:

Boston Sweeper is just an automated notification that is set up with the days to email for whatever streets during the appropriate months. I highly doubt anyone is paying attention to turning it off early.
I would go with the phone calls from the city. (I have to assume that the city that would be doing the ticketing if there were any knows more about this than BostonSweeper.)

From: