OK - how about the 20 foot law?

[an-art-worker.livejournal.com]

Since parking laws are under discussion I would like to bring up the 20 ft law (= illegal to park within 20 feet of an intersection). I got a ticket last month on my street for this, in a spot where I and other residents have parked for years. The ticket said I was 8 feet from the intersection. I appealed it by mail and sent photos and got a notice yesterday that my appeal was denied. (fwiw - this is a one way street, off of a one way street and in my humble opinion, there was ample clearance for pedestrians and emergency vehicles).

Ok - so I will pay the $30. ticket- but the thing is, it seems like selective/arbitrary enforcement. Even more, there are numerous spots in this neighborhood where, if this 20 ft law were enforced routinely, would not be legal spots at all- yet folks park in those spots all the time.

Trivial I agree but it seems more about $$$ ("revenue enhancement") than anything else. Also, rather than leaving it to a judgment call by someone tryng to park or the parking enforcement person, there should be clear markings on the curb at the 20 ft mark.

Photo behind the cut. Am I guilty or not? ;-)


 

Comments

[buckturgidsen.livejournal.com]

Okay, agreed that it's reasonable to ticket the car in this photo -- parked too close to the crosswalk, hard on emergency vehicles, guilty as charged etc. But can somebody explain to me why emergency vehicles need a buffer of 20 feet around every street corner in the city? There is just a huge difference between 5 feet (or whatever the distance from this car to the corner) and 20 feet. To put it in perspective the largest Lincoln Navigator or Towncar is "only" 18.5 feet long.

The restriction should be something reasonable like 6 feet, 8 feet, maybe even 10 feet. If there are specific corners that are especially tight then claim 20 feet of space with no parking signs or a red/yellow curb. But it's over the top to set the law at 20 feet for every street corner in town when we all know that this is way more space than required and that it's enforced extremely selectively/randomly.

We got a ticket this fall for parking 13' from the corner of a tiny cul de sac and I can assure you all that the 13' gap left ample space for emergency vehicles to make it around the corner. We even had another Somerville police officer approach us to tell us we should argue it.

[grapefruiteater.livejournal.com]

Another angle that hasn't been mentioned here is visibility for other drivers. When cars are parked in or very near intersections, it's hard to see around them. This can be a problem for pedestrians, too--you're forced to step out into the road to see if cars are coming. The car in the photo is close enough to the intersection to present problems for pedestrians and drivers, and it would be worse if it faced the other direction on a one-way street--intersections with stop signs where there are cars parked right at the stop line are the worst.

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

Ever seen a fire truck corner? 20' isn't unreasonable, and the law's in place as much to keep citizen's cars from being wrecked as it is to allow proper space for emergency vehicles. Plus it's just common courtesy.