In the spirit of Tom Champion ...

[on-reserve.livejournal.com]

If you live in Ward Seven, or if you have a Zone 1 parking permit (which, I guess may apply to people in other wards) don't forget to put your new resident parking sticker on your car.

On my drive this morning, I saw DOZENS of bright orange pieces of paper staring back at me on cars with the old sticker. The city is not giving any leniency in this matter, near as I can tell.

Comments

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

I know you get a sticker based on where you live and not based on when you go in to get a sticker.

How do you know this? Where is it written down, because many people have said it on this LJ, but no one has shown me anything on the city's page or in the policies that backs that up.

Yet.

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

Has anyone shown you otherwise, for you to assume it's *not* true? Why not just call the parking office or 311 if you care so much?

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

I live in a neighborhood where many people have stickers marked "1", I have one marked "5".

Other people have wondered, on this community, and i have checked the city's webpage - nothing there about it.

eta:
I live in ward one, I have a "5" sticker. My inspection tag, my plates, and my parking sticker all renew in the same month - the month I first got the car, and registered it, in 2005.

[pearlythebunny.livejournal.com]

If your parking sticker has a 5, then you must renew it in May. If your plates and inspection sticker renew that month, too, I think it is a coincidence. The month your plate renews will never change, I think, but the month of your inspection can change, if you go in late.

I have an inspection sticker that was a 6 (June). I went in a few days late, at the beginning of July. So for a year, I had a 7 sticker. Then next year, I went in a few days late, and I had an 8. Now I am up to 11. So inspection stickers expire in the month a year from when you get them.

[on-reserve.livejournal.com]

So inspection stickers expire in the month a year from when you get them.

This is true unless you get rejected. If you go in June, get rejected and then get repairs and bring it back for a re-test your sticker will be for the month you originally brought it in.

Only saying this because last year I went in January, failed, took until mid-March to get repairs and thought I'd get a cool March sticker. Nope. January.

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

FYI, the month that your license plate renews is based on the final digit of the plate number. If your plate ends in 5, and you acquired your car in May, then both the plate registration and the inspection tag will be due for renewal in May, but it's pure coincidence.

(If you were to put off getting your inspection done until the first day of June, you'd get a 6/June inspection tag, but your plates would still expire in May. And unless you change your place of residence, your Somerville parking zone won't change either.)

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

My plate ends in 6, my tags renew in May.

And unless you change your place of residence, your Somerville parking zone won't change either.

My residence did change, and I still have the same number on my parking sticker as before - and my residence change is on my registration.

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

Oops, I guess I should have said "unless you change your place of residence to a different parking zone." Obviously one can move within a zone and still have the same number on one's parking sticker....

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

I'm in a way different "zone".

Does someone have a map of these zones?

Because, seriously, in my neighborhood I have seen, on cars that are regularly parked there, well over three different numbered stickers.

[pearlythebunny.livejournal.com]

My plate ends in J.

[zmgmeister.livejournal.com]

Do you have one of those vintage green 123-ABC plates? I'm not sure if those have the "last number is the month it expires" feature.

[pearlythebunny.livejournal.com]

Yes, but there are other types of plates that end with letters. I've seen many plates with red letters/numbers that are something like 1234 AB.

[veek.livejournal.com]

More anecdotal evidence, I know, but I did get my resident sticker last June, and it's a 2 (February). I asked the traffic office lady about it, and she confirmed that the renewal month is based on where you live, not when you got the sticker.

[zmgmeister.livejournal.com]

Which ward? Also, what letter does your visitor permit have on it?

[veek.livejournal.com]

Ward 2, and... I don't remember what letter, since my housemates are taking care of the visitor permits. I'm reasonably sure it's A, but someone's taken the old ones so I can't check.

[veek.livejournal.com]

Um, I'm an idiot. Ward 6.

[bgum.livejournal.com]

I wonder if they're trying to confuse us. Last time I got a sticker, the clerk said it depends on the street--some streets are 9 month and some are 12 month. And though I got a 12-month sticker, the year before (I lived in the same place) I got a 10 month sticker. Also, if they're coming out with new rules (someone mentioned one about removing expired stickers,) shouldn't they inform us?

[leko.livejournal.com]

I asked the woman about the zones and numbers when I was getting my sticker a few weeks ago. She told me the same thing -- all the permits in a given zone expire the same month. I didn't ask why, but load-balancing seems like the obvious reason.

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

http://community.livejournal.com/davis_square/1133711.html?thread=11307407#t11307407

Sounds like people get two different answers from different parking people.

[leko.livejournal.com]

I'm not convinced that wards are the same thing as zones. I believe that I am in ward 6, parking zone Z.

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

"And she said, the numbers don't correspond to wards, they just indicate the month your permit is up."

So, according to one person at the T&P office, it has to do with when your sticker is up.

[leko.livejournal.com]

The numbers absolutely are the month that the permit expires. Zone Z expires in august. The permits have an 8 on them. Ward 6 obviously overlaps with zone Z, but to what extent is what is unclear.

[on-reserve.livejournal.com]

Wards are definitely not the same as parking zones. I'm Ward 7 and Parking Zone 1. I think Parking Zones are tied to where you geographically live but not aligned with ward numbers.

[pearlythebunny.livejournal.com]

It's starting to sound as if the zones might go from west to east, beginning with zone 1 farthest west, then zone 2 next, and so on until zone 12 would be in East Somerville somewhere.

[lilly9999.livejournal.com]

I moved to Somerville in the month of June and got a 2 sticker (end of February). I live on Morrison Ave.