(no subject)

[spaz-i-mota.livejournal.com]

Hi Everyone.  

This may sound dumb, and i apologize for my ignorance..but what are the odds of getting ticked by off Day Street a couple blocks up from the square Friday and Saturday?  

The story is that I'll moving to the Davis area Friday afternoon (from out of state)...and I won't be able to get a Resident Permit b/c City Hall closes at noon.  The City folks really didn't seem to take to any of my sugguestions about how to get a permit..faxing my info and having them mail it..taking my plate down for the time being..etc., and told me I should ask a neighbor (none of which i know yet  of course) if they have a visitor's permit that could get me through till Sunday.  Monday I can go to take care of this in person before work.

They also were so kind to tell me that  I could just get tickets and then contest them if I didn't get anything from a neighbor..I wish they'd be more coorperative...

Any comments or ideas??  Thanks ;-)

Comments

[prunesnprisms.livejournal.com]

My suggestion would be that you may well get tickets, and to contest them when you go in on Monday to get that permit, since it's the same place. Usually they are pretty nice about it. Of course, since you didn't construe that as a cooperative suggestion when it was tendered to you before, you may not construe it as one now.

[x-bluerose-x.livejournal.com]

Hi, I don't mean to be a pain in the ass, but everyone views this community in their own friends list which may or may not have a different background color. And you're hurting my eyes. Thanks.

[ruxxell.livejournal.com]

[x-bluerose-x.livejournal.com]

That's cute. *pats you on the head*

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

Don't encourage...

Goddammit. The problem with the meetups is now I'm never sure who I've met, and I don't want to fuck up their gender. Hey, ruxxell, you're a dude, right?

[x-bluerose-x.livejournal.com]

I have yet to attend a meetup but I'm frightfully busy these days. I'd be amused as hell to run into most of these people in person.

[ifotismeni]

yep, but he hasn't been to the meetups yet.

[pooka-madness.livejournal.com]

That sounds like the Somerville municipality; everyone is interfered with or ignored equally. I don't know where you're moving from, but it's probably best to start getting used to the notion of civil servants being generally unhelpful as soon as possible.

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

Which does not make Somerville unique. :-)

[pooka-madness.livejournal.com]

Fair point. I'm pretty much talking about greater b0st0n-- heck, Massachusetts in general.

[bombardiette.livejournal.com]

I'm a native who has lived in numerous other states in this nation. It's not just MA. In fact, MI, NY, PA and MO are far, far worse.

It's a federal pre-requisite to being a civil servant.

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

This has not really been my experience. In addition to the ever-communicative Tom Champion, I think the ResiStat initiative is a great step, and I've found Alderman Sullivan very responsive and the mayor pretty helpful. Of course they're not all helpful but they're not all useless and obstructive, either.

[pooka-madness.livejournal.com]

Oh I was just being a sarcastic a-hole (which is another thing this person should get used to, at least if they're going to be posting in these livejournal communities.)

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

Ah, yes, "get used to the snark" is totally a sentiment I can get behind :).

[ron_newman]

I live on Day Street and could lend you a visitor permit if you can make 100% sure to return it to me when you're done with it. Maybe you're moving into my building (18 Day)?

(By the way, please remove the blue colored font. Thanks.)

[x-bluerose-x.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Wasn't trying to be rude or snarky or anything. Maybe this is something that should be in the comm rules if it isn't already. I couldn't even read the text....

[ron_newman]

Yeah, I'm thinking of making a moderator post soon saying "please don't paste into Rich Text from Microsoft Word, and please don't specify font colors, faces, and sizes."

[desiringsubject.livejournal.com]

You don't get permits at City Hall. Does the dept of traffic and parking (on Holland Ave) close at noon? They should be able to give you a temp something, if not a real resident permit (since you might not have proof of residence yet, like a bill.)

Otherwise, there *are* streets in Somerville that are non-permit, though not many of them that close to the square. Medford too. Overnight parking on the correct side of the street on Boston Ave by the Tufts campus is a useful standby.

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

Yes, the traffic and parking office does close at noon on Fridays, which is the day the OP was talking about.

A few details

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

You won't be able to get a resident permit until you have your car registered in MA, will you be able to do that before Monday? You'll also need a credit card or bank statement with your Somerville address on it.

Also, it's not City Hall where you get the parking permits, but the Parking Office on Holland Ave (they also close early on Fridays, but I don't want you to make the wrong schlep on Monday)

Is it possible that the previous resident has left a visitor's permit in the apartment that you can
use?

There are some streets in the area that don't require any permits at all. Furthermore Medford doesn't require a permit for street parking. So you might have the best luck with finding alternate parking spaces.

Good luck!

Re: A few details

[wallacestreet.livejournal.com]

I believe that you can get a temporary (7? 10? 14 days?) resident permit while you register your car in MA. You'll need something (signed lease works) as proof of residency, though. You can also get your visiter permits at the same time, but be careful, you're only allowed two days per week per car with those. We've been bitten by that before. Also, technically, you're not allowed to use visitor permits on your own car, but I don't think they can or do enforce that one.

Guess the Fine!

[apricot3.livejournal.com]

oh they enforce anything possible, your license is usually written on the pass (so at the very least, if you randomly have to- use a neighbor's pass if you can!)

they will give you a 7 day pass if you are moving from within the state- if you are moving from outside of that you can have a 14 day pass.

they Failed to mention this second part to me and i was given a 7 day pass, i got a ticket after that but before 14 days would have passed (i didn't know about that until months after) and they asked me to pay it before giving me a permit- at that point i was too tired to fight anymore. actually, i got Two tickets- but the first one was assigned to my old out of state plates, i had the new ones in the car but just hadn't put them on yet... i never paid that and it just kind of disappeared :)

when i moved up here, the post office fucked up and wasn't releasing all of my forwarded mail. though i switched my address a full two weeks before i moved, most of my bills are paperless and the parking office wouldn't accept what i had printed from the internet, they just frowned at my efforts from the other side of the glass. even though i had Insurance already on the car, with my new address, i was in limbo hell waiting for mail so i could get both the permit for here and then wait Two weeks to get a state conversion license in the mail. man it sucked (plus i got treated like a criminal child when i tried to get into a concert with a peice of paper for a license!), i hope your transition is easier

and i second another commenter, you'd have received two tickets, definitely. this is how the city makes Money, easier than taxes! i know that in boston they only assign one person to a few blocks to circle around All Day Long, sometimes their routes even overlap. in the 4 months that i've had a car i think i've paid almost $200 in tickets of randomness, my new game is Guess the Fine whenever i try to park somewhere new :P

[ron_newman]

And just so you'll know for the future: neither parking meters nor residential parking apply on Sundays. Meters are in effect 8 am to 6 pm Monday-Saturday, except in off-street parking lots where they go to 8 pm.

[csbermack.livejournal.com]

You could put a little note on your car saying you just moved in and please don't ticket you. Don't know what good it'll do ya, but it might. You could knock on a neighbor's door. You could leave your car in legal parking until Monday; if you leave the blinkers on while you load and unload, you probably won't get ticketed.

Me, I'd just take the chance of the ticket, and contest it when you go in. Or pay it; they're not that expensive.

Your other suggestions aren't really working with the system very well. What are they going to do, give every traffic cop a special note with your plate number? The mechanism for dealing with special cases like yours is that you challenge a ticket if you get it and it goes away.

[spaz-i-mota.livejournal.com]

Thanks everyone and sorry about the blue font or any other rules I've broken. I'm not a regular poster.

Ron_newman--maybe I will take you up on that? I'm going to call my building manager to see if she has anything, she lives in the building-I should have thought of that at first. FYI-my place is on the corner of Orchard and Day. I'll let you know though, and really appreciate that offer.

I didn't realize the Parking Dept. wasn't at City Hall, so thanks for that information. I assumed they were there. That would have been frustrating!

Where I live now, in RI, there isn't any overnight parking at all and no permits period, so I haven't 'gotten' to deal with this yet! I will be meeting with my car insurance guy Friday and he's gonna help me get it registered I guess. Seems kind of nice. I think I will only get a temp. pass Monday anyways with my utility hook up confirmation emails (I did ask them that)
Thanks again!

[ron_newman]

I'm also at the corner of Orchard and Day. You're moving into either my building or the one across the street from me. You can e-mail me (click on the little head next to my name to find my e-mail address).

Traffic and Parking is at 133 Holland Street, a short walk from Davis Square. Residential permits cost $10 each (I assume you're bringing just one car). Visitor permits cost $1 each, and you can buy two of them.

[laryu.livejournal.com]

If it's any easier for you, I also have a guest pass that you can have and there's no need to return it to me, because it expires at the end of March. I'm around the corner on Herbert St. It might be easier to connect with ron_newman because he's closer, but I thought I'd give you the option.

[ron_newman]

I just realized that mine does too. (I have two passes that expire in March 2008, and two that expire in March 2009. The original poster can have one of the former.)

[unferth.livejournal.com]

When I moved into Somerville, I was able to call the Department of Traffic and Parking and set up a grace period while waiting for the DMV to update my address. I still got tickets, but they removed them when I picked up my residential parking sticker.

My car was already registered in MA, though, and this was back in 2001. Things may have changed - but it can't hurt to call the Traffic and Parking people and see. http://www.somervillema.gov/Department.cfm?orgunit=TRAFFIC has the hours and other relevant information.

[mistresshellena.livejournal.com]

yes, I've heard this to be true for many folks too.

Also the case with long-term out of town visitors. It's kind of a weird way to do it, but it's the way they do it.

(i <3 bureaucracy!)

[lissie930.livejournal.com]

This has been my experience too, when I failed to read the fine print on the visitor's pass and we used it for too many nights and got a ticket. They were really nice and waived the ticket. They told me in the future just to call in advance and then bring the tickets in to be waived. Seems like there's maybe not an easy way just to avoid the tickets in the first place.

[leko.livejournal.com]

I'd put the chances of you getting a ticket at 99%. When I moved in and had to park on the street for an hour because the moving truck was blocking my driveway: ticket. 2 hours late one night playing poker on a quiet side street: ticket. Running into the central bank on highland at 7:58 and getting out at 8:02 because they were restocking the ATM: ticket. Yes, in the 2 minutes that the meters were enforced I got a ticket. Somerville has the most efficient meter maids I have ever encountered.

I have never _not_ gotten a ticket when parking illegally.

[ron_newman]

That first one I bet you could get waived. Probably not the other two.

[an-art-worker.livejournal.com]

fwiw - there is non-resident, non-metered parking on Highland on the other side of the Sq. so you would be safe from tix.

parking at alewife -- as long as we're on the subject

[madscientist01.livejournal.com]

I am in a similar bind as the original poster, having just found out I am losing my off-street parking space. I drive my car to work, so I can generally park at meters after-hours except Saturday. Is it safe/advisable to leave your car at Alewife garage over the weekend? And does it cost money every day (i.e. I should move my car on Saturday night so I don't pay for Sunday when I can freely park on the street) Or is there some more obvious solution for Saturday beyond feeding a meter every few hours (which I think is illegal anyway)

Thanks for the help, I was given this car by a relative and still need to go through the trouble of putting the title into my name etc. so I can't yet get a street permit.

Re: parking at alewife -- as long as we're on the subject

[ron_newman]

If you can prove you live in Somerville, you should be able to get a guest permit. Then use that each Saturday night (and only on Saturdays).

Re: parking at alewife -- as long as we're on the subject

[madscientist01.livejournal.com]

If by guest pass you mean a "visitor's pass" (in parking dept lingo), don't you need someone in the household with a resident permit to obtain a visitor's pass? I am the only one with a car so that wouldn't work. If that's not what you mean, I couldn't find anything on guest passes in Somerville or Cambridge (but I would be really excited if I were eligible for something like that!)
...Incidentally, I technically live in Cambridge as I live just across Mass Ave from Day St. (and being close to the border can cause confusion during snow emergencies!)

Re: parking at alewife -- as long as we're on the subject

[ron_newman]

No. You do not need to own a car at all to buy visitor passes. I don't own a car, and I buy two visitor passes every year. All you need to do is prove you live at an address where there is resident parking on the street. A recent utility bill will do.

Those are Somerville's rules, but I think Cambridge's are similar. Better check with them, however.

Cambridge rules

[ron_newman]

Parking for Residents and Their Visitors, from the Cambridge city website:

Each residential household can obtain one visitor parking permit good in the area in which they live whether or not that household has a car.

parking woes no more

[spaz-i-mota.livejournal.com]

Thanks again everyone. It turns out my building manager will lend me her visitor pass to get me through the weekend and then i'll go deal with it in person Monday.

I really appreciate all the feedback from the forum!
Looking forward to moving ;-)

Welcome to Somerville!

[tomchampion.livejournal.com]

Dear spaz_i_mota:

As you can tell from the foregoing thread, Somerville residents are closely divided on whether their city government is populated by:

1. Reasonably forthcoming and accommodating public servants only slightly hampered by the usual bureaucratic red tape; or
2. Rapacious, lazy, grasping dolts who can't be bothered to do their jobs.

I don't think that dichotomy of perception is ever going to change -- in Somerville or anywhere else -- but our Mayor has made improvements to customer service a personal priority.

Just so you know, the reason city offices are closed for business after 12:30 on Fridays (many of us are still here working, but the counters are closed)is that a choice was made some years back to offer extended hours on Thursday nights, when the counters remain open until 7:30 p.m. To avoid overtime costs under union contracts, the city simply moved the Friday afternoon hours to Thursday night. This change has inconvenienced some people seeking services from the city but has helped many more. I apologize that it worked against you in this case.

I congratulate you on trying to take care of so much automotive business before moving here. Many folks don't start to deal with these issues until after they have moved in.

And if I may, I'd like to ask a question about your interaction with the city to date:

Were the "city folks" you talked to in our 311 constituent service center, or did you talk to someone directly at Traffic and Parking, or some other branch of city government?

(Somerville is rare among smaller cities in having a centralized source of information and services that can be reached by dialing 311 on any landline or cell phone within the city limits, or by calling 617-666-3311 from outside the city. By the way, if you call 311 they'll send you a welcome kit with brochures about recycling, snow emergency and other parking regs, and a lot of other information.)

I ask because I want to make sure that the training and info in 311 are fully up to speed on these issues, and because we do try to take customer service seriously.

- tchampion@somervillema.gov

Director of Communications
City of Somerville

[kvarko.livejournal.com]

I don't think you should get so upset when the city says "call head and warn us, we'll record it, you'll possibly get ticketed, then you come in after fact and get the tickets torn up because we had your request on record." This is *standard* for Somerville.

When my car (with a permit sticker) was in the shop and I had a rental (without a sticker), they said to call and let them know, if I got any tickets then I'd come to the office and they'd rescind them.

If you're gonna have a party and you expect a lot of people to show and can't give them all visitor permits, you call the office and let them know, if anyone get tickets then you come in to the office and they rescind the tickets.

It's how Somerville works. Maybe they could have been more helpful about taking faxes etc, but realize that the advice they're giving you is *standard* advice, for many situations. It's not some consolation idea that they're giving you as a last resort.

Thanks again

[spaz-i-mota.livejournal.com]

I don't know if all the entries to my questions yesterday have somehow twisted this as if I am insulting Somerville, but I'm not. I don't live there yet, so I have nothing to say, besides I am not accustomed its to procedures. I've lived in other cities with other rules and am just trying to figure out what is what here, when I move.

Thank you for all your comments to me. But, please understand I was not upset, angry, or critical, I just was confused.

;-)