davis_square | Update on Holland Street Parking and Other Matters

tomchampion.livejournal.com posting in

After the disastrous problem I encountered the last time I tried to check out information for this group, I wanted to take my time and be doubly sure before providing a response to yesterday's posting about street sweeping tickets issued on Holland Street in the small hours of Wednesday morning.

Thanks to a thorough review of this matter by T&P Director Jim Kotzuba (who says “hello” even to those of you who say that his department “sucks ass”), here is what I can tell you:

1. The odd-numbered side of Holland Street (the side on which PJ Ryan’s is located) is posted for street sweeping every other WEDNESDAY. It is the EVEN-NUMBERED side of the street that is posted for MONDAYS. This has been the case for years, and it is also the case along other major arterial roadways (such as Highland Avenue).
2. Presumably, the PCO (parking control officer) voided on_reserve’s ticket because on_reserve appeared on the curb – ready, willing, and able to drive away, clearly not planning to stand in the way of the street sweeper – and the PCO decided to give a resident a break. It certainly appears, however, that tickets issued on the odd side of Holland Street after midnight on Wednesday (there were fewer than 10 in all) were valid and correct.
3. No tickets were written for the opposite side of the street. T&P will, however, review the tickets from that route and shift, and will void any tickets written in error, sending correspondence to anyone who was affected. In other words, if it’s clear that a ticket was written in error, no further action will be required on the part of the vehicle owner and he/she will receive written confirmation that the violation has been voided.
4. The PCO was entirely right simply to tell on_reserve that, if drivers believed their tickets were issued in error, they should appeal them. For obvious reasons, PCOs are trained not to get into curbside disputes or lengthy discussions with drivers.

Other miscellaneous points:

1. The impact of street-sweeping parking regulations on businesses that operate past midnight is mitigated by the fact that only one side of the street has sweeping regulations in effect on any given night (and, even then, only four nights per month). These are long-established regulations of which local bars can — and should be – well aware. They pose no great hardship in terms of the availability of parking although, admittedly, people who start drinking at, say, 9 p.m. probably don’t look at the parking signs closely when they come in and wouldn’t know they had to move their cars at midnight unless the bartender prompted them. But from April to December, the streets must be cleaned and these rules are clear, consistent, and longstanding.
2. As to the assertion that the city is “running a racket” with street sweeping regulations: It’s worth noting that 3,378 fewer street sweeping tickets were written in FY2008 (the fiscal year just ended on June 30th) than in FY2007 – even though there were more PCOs on the street. That’s a nine percent decline and, presumably, a sign of better compliance.
3. Nobody showed up at the Mayor’s Diesel Café office hour to discuss parking policies or anything else. Not one single soul.