Yet Another Parking Issue

[xuth.livejournal.com]

This morning while bicycling to work, I asked a parking enforcement officer why he wasn't ticketing people parked 5 feet away from the curb. He told me that with the snow storm he was told to not ticket for it. I find this to be absurd for the reasons that I'll enumerate behind the cut but I wanted to see what other thought about this before I started complaining to Somerville and Cambridge directly about it.

It's been over two weeks since we've had any significant snow fall and apparently it's still ok? There are many cars that I see parked in the same spot every day 5 feet from the curb.
Why is overstaying a meter or not having a permit more important than actual safety issues? It means that there is no extra space for cars or trucks to maneuver past each other in opposite lanes and in some places buses can't pass each other without stopping to let the other pass. It means that pedestrians can't look around cars because the cars are forced to pass the parked car so closely (the parking enforcement officer offered without my mention of this aspect that he had almost been hit that morning because of this problem). As a cyclist I have to make the choice of riding dangerously close to parked cars and weave in and out of traffic to get around these cars or just ride down the middle of the lane disrupting auto traffic. I personally choose the latter because it's safer, it just doesn't win me any friends.
This isn't a problem in Davis Square business district proper, because all of the snow was cleared from there. But just about anywhere else in the area, it's a real hazard.
Really I should be complaining about this in the summer too, because there doesn't seem to be much enforcement of this even then. My only cycling accident in recent years was when I was doored by the driver of an SUV parked about three feet from the curb and Somerville police thought so highly of it that they refused to accept an accident report from me when I went to the police station to report it.

Comments

[righteousness-1.livejournal.com]

I completely agree with you although getting bored with parking posts in general.

[somer-villains.livejournal.com]

well parking + winter makes for serious issues in these parts, so if it's relevant and can help shed light on a problem, why not post about it? it's easy enough to skip the parking posts...

[teko.livejournal.com]

I've never had as many issues with parking as I have had this winter. Sounds like others in the area have similar issues.

[diatomacearth.livejournal.com]

I've been telling people that in Somerville, parking is like the two-headed calf born last March in some tiny farming village; nobody in the winter has anything to do but talk about it.

[lbmango.livejournal.com]

Actually, I got ticketed for that (or maybe it was not parking 12 feet from the other side, if those are different) like 2 days after the last big one...

[thebostonreader.livejournal.com]

I think part of the problem is that with snow banks defining spaces, people aren't parking where they normally might. For example on my street there is a spot that I think is too near the hydrant, but that's where the banks are so that's where you'd have to park. I just didn't park in the spot, but obviously someone did.

[rethcir.livejournal.com]

I used to be a pretty aggro biker back in college, and enjoyed some winter road biking that nearly killed me on several occaisions, so I can understand your trepidation. However, I think some clemency is justified in this situation. It's just too hard to measure (and by extension, to enforce) a reasonable parking distance with snow still iced up as much as a foot from the curb.

[xuth.livejournal.com]

My point is that there are cars that are literally 5 feet from the curb. There aren't many that are that bad but on Mass Ave and Beacon/Hampshire (my daily commute) there are several per block parked no less than three feet out. Since Beacon / Hampshire is only 44 feet wide, the full size pickup truck parked five feet from the curb that I pointed out to the parking officer forces large vehicles to cross the center line to pass it (even three feet out makes things tight and there is certainly no space for even a small car to pass a cyclist safely once that couple feet has been taken). I would think that 5 feet would be pretty obvious especially when other people have cleared the areas where they park all the way to the curb.

Winter?

[jokabri.livejournal.com]

Don't take this wrong, but ain't it a little cold to be riding your bike anyway? I understand the issue you have with the narrow roads, but you're really taking your life in your hands riding in the winter and the snow/cold/rain. Cars aren't expecting to have to deal with bicycles this time of year - especially when the streets are so narrowed due to the snow piles. It's only like 3 or 4 months where the weather is not appropriate for bikes. Grab a charlie card.

Re: Winter?

[xuth.livejournal.com]

For this response I am going to assume that this is not a troll but it certainly smells of one.

There are many ways of arguing this. First lets offer legal. On a local level it is both Cambridge policy and law to promote bicycling¹. Somerville has similar laws and policies but they aren't pushed as hard. On a state level, driving a motorized vehicle on city and state roads is a privilege that can be given or revoked while bicycling is a right.

Second, there's practicality. I would have to walk a half mile to the subway stop (it was a mile before I moved a couple of months ago) and then once I got to the other end, I'd have another half mile walk. This is just to get to or from work, let alone run an errand. Much easier and saner (for me anyway) to ride 3.5 miles on streets that are cleared of snow long before the sidewalks are. Bicycling also allows me to carry much more and much easier than if I were walking/taking the T.

Third, this is how I get around. It's the way I live. And there are lots of people who share this sentiment. I ride in any weather and any temperature (well, I've never ridden in weather colder than -22f, but I've never been outside in anything colder). I can have more control over a bicycle in inclement weather than any car. Bicycling feels comfortable while walking any distance in a city is tedious. Further I can carry larger loads on my bicycle than I can in my car and certainly more than if I were walking / taking public transportation. I don't have to make preparations if I wish to go grocery shopping on my way home from work like I would if I were walking. If I do make preparations I can (and occasionally do) carry a pile of 4x8 sheets of plywood, other lumber, furniture, a large laser printer or a 21" CRT monitor. None of these items could I have fit in my admittedly small car and I certainly couldn't have carried them on public transportation.


(1) It is partly because of these laws that I also have a Charlie Card as a perk of employment. Cambridge zoning laws requires new construction to reduce single occupancy vehicle use, so as part of my employment benefits, I can have any form of public transportation pass I desire. A Charlie Card is the only one I wouldn't have to pay income tax on ($115/month is deductible for public transportation while $215 is deductible for parking... methinks this is a bit skewed). Sadly because it's a Charlie Card, I can no longer give my passes away to people who would put them to better use.

Re: Winter?

[jokabri.livejournal.com]

No problem, dude. You asked for input on your complaint. My input is that it is a little twisted to ride your bike in bitter cold and snow, but to then ask that people jam their cars into snow banks for you to ride by is selfish.

When I see people riding their bikes in crappy weather I usually pull over and ask "Are you damp in the head? Do you realize how hard it is to stop in this weather?". But hey... if the streets are cleared -- knock your socks off. Just keep in mind that cars always win when confronting bikes.

Re: Winter?

[xuth.livejournal.com]

it is a little twisted to ride your bike in bitter cold and snow
How is it twisted? You seem to think that I should be walking out in it instead. Why is that better?
but to then ask that people jam their cars into snow banks for you to ride by is selfish
no, I expect them to either move the snow or (legally) park somewhere else.
When I see people riding their bikes in crappy weather I usually pull over and ask "Are you damp in the head? Do you realize how hard it is to stop in this weather?". But hey... if the streets are cleared -- knock your socks off. Just keep in mind that cars always win when confronting bikes.
So roughly what you've just said is that you're quite happy to drive in a dangerous manner on the basis of it not being you that will be hurt if you screw up. Those aren't the terms in which you thought about it, but ultimately you said that that's what you do.

On a side note during the last big snow storm, the only time I had any problem on my way home from work was the person who felt it necessary to run up right next to me so that he could lean over, open his passenger window and shout "are you insane... are you insane?" all while trying to drive on mass ave. This meant that I had no maneuvering room since he felt it necessary to pace me and maintain less than a couple feet from me while he was shouting at me. Everyone else was quite content to leave a safe stopping distance between me and them.

Re: Winter?

[jokabri.livejournal.com]

Yeah... walking is safer as you can control yourself a bit better. In the winter the roads are slick enough that cars AND bikes don't have good traction.

No one said I want to drive dangerously just because I have a car. I ride my bike around a lot - just not in the winter when a) no one will be thinking to looking for people riding bikes, b) you freeze your ass off and c) people are prone to scream shit at you.

"Are you insane?". Now that's funny someone yelled it, but it is a legitimate question when someone is pedalling through snow/ice and bitter cold. I'll have to add that my repertoire.

Your original post asked if we thought it worth your while to complain about cars parking too far away from the curbs as it hindered your bike rides. IMO -- I wouldn't bother if I were you.

[bobobb.livejournal.com]

I hear what you are saying and kuddos to you for riding your bike year round! I'm always impressed by people like you. FYI -- I have been ticketed for parking too far from the curb during the winter when the snow had piled up so it does happen, though perhaps not as frequently as it should. Is the problem that people can't get near the curb because of all the snow? On my street even though there were no cars parked on the even side of the street the plows did not get anywhere near the curb, resulting in cars having to park so much further out. Maybe the complaint to the city should address that instead -- and then the driving posters on this blog won't make so many sour faces at you....

[xuth.livejournal.com]

Is the problem that people can't get near the curb because of all the snow?
Yes, but if none of the snow has been cleared and you can't get anywhere close to the curb then you either need to move the snow or park somewhere else. The other common case is that there's a wall of snow piled on the curb and people park far enough away from that that the passenger side door can be opened all the way.