Parking

[sonofabish.livejournal.com]

Here's a verbatim cut/paste of an email I received, updating the permit parking regs.

Hello, this is Jackie Rossetti from the City of Somerville with important information about changes in permit parking regulations. Effective on January 4, 2010, all streets not currently under permit parking rules will shift to permit parking. A City contractor will begin erecting signs on affected streets starting tomorrow, Monday November 16th. All new signs will be in place by Friday, December 18th, but enforcement of permit regulations at these new locations will not begin until January 4th. In the meantime, the City will flyer all vehicles parked on newly permitted streets to remind drivers of the change, and will issue additional phone and email messages as we approach the implementation date. Resident parking stickers, visitor permits and all other permits are available immediately from the Traffic and Parking offices at 133 Holland Street: residents can save time by not waiting until the last minute to obtain their permits. For more information about how to obtain permits, please visit the City’s website at www.somervillema.gov or call 311 during normal business hours. Thank you.

Comments

[mjperson.livejournal.com]

We got a call about that, but it wasn't from Tom, so it's probably a hoax or something...

[thespian.livejournal.com]

Tom loves us and only brings us joy, and would never hurt us so.

[pushupstairs.livejournal.com]

good luck with that, Somerville. I know I'm pretty annoyed to not be able to visit my friends or go anywhere besides Davis Square since I won't be able to drive.

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

This response doesn't make any sense. I guess you feel unable to visit Cambridge by car, too?

[cos]

Gah. Exactly the think people most hated about the new proposal, and all they did was postpone it by a few months. Idiots. I used to like Somerville.

[joylewis.livejournal.com]

Yeah, this doesn't seem to have anything to do with all the proposals that were agreed upon back in May. I remember some of the main thoroughfares were going to be permit only from 2 AM to 8 AM, and some of the permit free streets were going to remain permit free...

What happened to the findings of the task force?

[obie119.livejournal.com]

I was just going to ask whether this includes main thoroughfares, which the e-mail seems to imply. I am hardly a car-car-car person (I share one with my husband, and ride my bike almost everywhere) but this seems bad to business to me, for the various squares.

[kalimba21.livejournal.com]

my only hope is that when this new policy doesn't work out, they figure out a way to remove the signs without leaving dangerous metal stumps all over the city. My dad impaled his leg on one of those in union sq - very dangerous.

[tt02144.livejournal.com]

Since the day that this was first proposed it was a done deal. No amount of meetings or commissions was going to change things. I have already spoken with several friends who frequent restaurants, stores, medical offices, etc. in the city of SOmerville and they have all told me flat out that they will take their $ elsewhere. I hope they can make as much money as they hope to on permit fees and tickets, because if not taxes next year will go through the roof. I am so through with this city and can't wait to get out.

[bostonartist.livejournal.com]

I own a small business just outside Union Square. I have a few clients come by each day. In the past parking has not been a problem on my street because there are plenty of open spaces during the day. Now its all going to be resident parking except for a few spaces. The city is creating a problem where one did not exist. I will see how things go once this is implemented, if it becomes a huge hassle for my clients it will be one more BIG reason to leave Somerville.

[marylu.livejournal.com]

Jackie Rossetti is a real person who works for the City's communications department, so it probably isn't a hoax. I am continually astonished at how the city's PARKING policy inspires more community input than any other issue involving city government.

[tt02144.livejournal.com]

Why does the response surprise you? Parking, trash removal, snow removal, are probably the only 3 city services that affect EVERYONE who lives or works here at some point in time.