Somerville parking anal violation

[concrete.livejournal.com]

Tomorrow is the last day of January, where our parking passes expire.

If you got new parking passes already: when did you get them?

If you don't have the passes yet: where will you park Sunday night?

Comments

[mcary219.livejournal.com]

i got mine in July that means that it is still good till July right?

[veek.livejournal.com]

It's good until the last day of the month corresponding to the big number on your sticker. So if you have a big 4, it's good until the end of April. If you have a big 1, the end of January. And so on.

[mcary219.livejournal.com]

wait but i thought it was $15 for the year when I got it in July and i thought the big 2 meant the location....no?

[veek.livejournal.com]

I don't know how they compute who gets which month, but I think it might have something to do with your address, so possibly yes, but not in the sense you meant.

The first time you get a S'ville parking permit, it's almost certainly for less than a year. Then it evens out.

[mcary219.livejournal.com]

so mine is good until the end of february?

[taerowyn.livejournal.com]

Exactly

[mcary219.livejournal.com]

whew at least i have a few days to renew...

[veek.livejournal.com]

Yes.

[taerowyn.livejournal.com]

Nope, your first year you usually get short-changed as the timing of expiration IS based on location (i.e. resident permits in certain areas of the city all expire at the same time). So, for instance, if in May you move into an area where the permits all expire in July, your first $15 only pays for those initial few months, then in July you have to spend another $15 for a new permit that will run through the following July.

[mcary219.livejournal.com]

good to know... something i did not know i thought i was safe until I purchased it. knowing is half the battle!

[mcary219.livejournal.com]

i mean safe until the date i purchased (ie july)

[no1onthecorner.livejournal.com]

Sometimes you luck out your first year - I first got a permit in January, and it was good through March of the following year. I think it depends on the timing.

And OP, I parked with an expired permit on the first of the month last year, on a street that's regularly patrolled for parking, and wasn't ticketed - just one anecdote and not an official policy (and the city might want the income more this year), but there's occasionally leniency.

[tom-champion.livejournal.com]

When the City converted to citywide permit parking, the new rules went into effect on January 4, 2010. For new permit holders in Zones 1, 2 or 3 (exp. Jan, Feb, March), T&P issued stickers that were good for 13, 14 or 15 months instead of the usual 12. From now on, though, if you buy a new car or move into Somerville, you have to pay the full price for a sticker that's good for a partial year. That's the way it was before the switch and the way it will be going forward.

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

T&P issued stickers that were good for 13, 14 or 15 months instead of the usual 12

Ah, if I'd known that, I would have gotten my visitor passes sooner. I was concerned that if I got them early, they'd expire in a month. Nice to know that was done, anyway.

To the OP: it happens that mine expires in January as well so I went in last week at ~2pm because I figured that was a slow time. I'm not sure there's *ever* a slow time these days. The wait was quite long, so be prepared for that. (It seems that part of the problem is that the process is just slow. I was getting my sticker renewed, had all my docs, no problem, no questions, cash deal, but it still took close to 10 minutes of window, which seems really lengthy for such a simple transaction.)

Also, since you live around the corner, you're welcome to come by and borrow a visitor pass or park in my driveway or something.

[pekmez.livejournal.com]

Tom, it seems like those stickers were good for 13, 14, or 15 months because the alternative for someone scrambling to get a sticker for the first time in November or December 2009 in those zones would have been to buy one that was good for just 2 or 3 months (not 12 like the renewal).

If they were nice, they'd stick to a similar policy in general - moving to Somerville you would pay full price for a partial year, but at some point instead of getting shafted by a sticker that's only good for 1 month or 2 months they can sell you the next year's sticker good for slightly over a year. Perhaps, when they have the stickers ready to start processing renewals, which I know they have before the month in question.

I renewed my sticker when I got the form in the mail in December, and I'm in Zone 1/January 31 expiration. I got the new sticker late December.

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

The right way to solve this problem would be to pro-rate the price for your first sticker. If it's good for 6 months, you pay half price, etc.

[pjmorgan.livejournal.com]

I require my tenants to leave their visitor's permits when they leave for the next tenant. (Can't do that with stickers though).

[pywaket.livejournal.com]

And exactly how do you "require" they leave something that they paid for?

[pjmorgan.livejournal.com]

Well they receive the permits the previous tenants left for them so they don't have to pay for that initial partial year. Pay it forward, you know?

Plus when they don't live in the property anymore, they're not allowed to use the visitor permits anymore (and they wouldn't even want to use them on a cheating basis, unless they plan on visiting the neighborhood frequently or trying to sell them to a neighbor), so why should they take them with them?

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

Can the next tenant also apply for new visitor permits, and end up with more than the maximum allowed by the city?

[veek.livejournal.com]

Traffic and Parking office on the corner of Holland and Paulina (right by the playground they're doing construction on).

If you don't have anywhere else to park, we can probably work something out with regard to our driveway. :) Get in touch if you need to.

[concrete.livejournal.com]

Hey thanks!

[queen-of-wands.livejournal.com]

If that doesn't work out, concrete your car could definitely find safe harbor for a night in our driveway. Also, the original subject line sounds like you've been hanging out with imlad.

[concrete.livejournal.com]

I'm busted! but the man makes a good breakfast :) we bonded over bacon.

[tom-champion.livejournal.com]

Passes may be renewed annually by mail, but they don't renew automatically.
There are several possibilities about what's happening here, but it's not clear exactly what's going on from the information you've given.
Since you've already been using resident parking stickers, you should have received a renewal form in the mail weeks ago. If you haven't, then T&P has made some sort of mistake, and you might be able to have some success in appealing any tickets you receive, but waiting until now to raise the issue won't work in your favor.
In any case, you should go to T&P's offices at 133 Holland Street AS SOON AS YOU CAN, bringing a valid Mass registration with a Somerville address for each vehicle, plus proof of residency (a bank statement, or a current gas, electric, telephone or cable bill), plus $15 per sticker (check or cash only). T&P's hours are: Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M., Thursdays from 9:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M., and Fridays from 9:00 A.M. to Noon.
If you DID receive such a form in the mail, and you returned it with the requested confirming documents and payments, you should have received your permits by now. You should follow up immediately on Monday morning by calling 311 to report that you already reapplied and still don't have your permit stickers. You should be able to pick up your stickers at T&P right away without incurring any further costs -- and you can definitely appeal any tickets you receive until the stickers are on the vehicles: under these circumstances, the tickets should be summarily dismissed, since T&P took too long to process your sticker renewal.
I hope you are able to get this resolved quickly. If you didn't wait until the last minute on this and T&P has screwed up, I apologize on their behalf and I'm sure you will be able to make this come out right with no further costs incurred.
If you did let this go until the last weekend, then I hope that next time you will call 311 or visit T&P before the stickers expire. And please don't forget that, although DSLJers are usually helpful and well-informed, you should call or email 311 for help with questions like these.

[buymeaclue.livejournal.com]

If you haven't, then T&P has made some sort of mistake

This happened to me last year...no renewal form, got a ticket, went down to the office to renew my permit and when I asked about the form, they said those only went out "sometimes." Bummer.

[tom-champion.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry this happened to you.
Were you told this at the counter or by a hearing officer? Because what you were told was not accurate.
I'm not sure that anything can be done retroactively, but I do know that, going forward, Acting T&P Director (and former Police Chief) Bob Bradley is determined to improve customer service at every level of the Department.
To do that, he needs details, details, details.
So if you, or any other DSLJer, has a story of slow or failed processing, lost applications or payments, bad information, or a ticket that wasn't dismissed even though it was obviously a mistake, please write up an account with as much detail as possible and submit it to the City via this online form:
http://www.somervillema.gov/contactus.cfm

Please include dates, violation numbers, check numbers, etc., if you can, as well as the type of employee who provided incorrect information.

2 very important notes:

1. When I talk about a ticket that was "obviously a mistake," I mean things like a snow emergency ticket issued before the four-hour car-moving window had expired, or a ticket issued on a newly permitted-street before enforcement started, or a permit ticket issued on a Sunday, or -- famous in the annals of DSLJ -- a street-sweeping ticket issued on the wrong side of the street, or a ticket issued to a car you haven't owned for a year. This isn't about whether you were really two or three feet outside the violation zone, or the meter hadn't really expired, or you'd just run in to get the visitor permit and were gone "only two minutes." This is about the ones where nobody has to take your word for it: the ticket is wrong on the face of it; or the hearing officer or clerk told you something that just isn't true.
2.T&P staff, including and especially the Parking Control Officers (PCOs) have incredibly difficult, demanding and complex jobs. They make mistakes -- we all do -- but they are doing the best they can in a complex regulatory environment. They frequently deal with people who are angry -- and all too often trying to game the system. They are right to be skeptical and it's understandable when they get defensive.
Now that there is a good-faith effort under way to improve accuracy and customer service, please don't pile on.

[prunesnprisms.livejournal.com]

I am so sorry you left the city, but it's so nice having you back here in DSLJ even unofficially.

[buymeaclue.livejournal.com]

It was somebody at the counter, and I did just say, "Oh," or, "Really," or some such and paid my fine and got my new permit--I _had_ failed to notice that it was expiring, so I figured that, renewal form or no renewal form, that part of it was on me.

And I did feel bad for the officer who had ticketed the car; I walked up as he was writing the ticket and (politely) asked what it was for and he did get a bit defensive--not rude, but clearly, he was used to being yelled at--I'm sure it is a thankless job!

But this is good to know if it or something similar happens again. Thank you.

In redneck land...

[nvidia99999.livejournal.com]

I bet folks would react more violently, in similar situations...

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

"a permit ticket issued on a Sunday" --

Why don't the new "2 hour parking except by permit 8 am - 2:30 am, permit only 2:30 am - 8 am" signs say "except Sunday"? Is everyone supposed to know that permit rules aren't in effect on Sundays?

[pekmez.livejournal.com]

Just to add a nice story to the mix:

Last year I got a form in the mail, returned it, and noticed the last week of the month that I still didn't have the new sticker & passes. When I called the office they eventually tracked it down and concluded that something had gone wrong - and then the next day my passes showed up on my doorstep, not stamped and in the mailbox but apparently hand delivered. (I live not too far from the office.)

[hammercock.livejournal.com]

I never got a renewal form in the mail, either. I'd been expecting one, since I'd received one last year. Fortunately, I had a sick day on Thursday and was able to take some time to go to the T&P office. Against all odds, it was the least painful encounter with T&P that I've had in my 11 years of living here. The line was a bit long, but moved more quickly than usual, and my transaction was processed quickly by a clerk who was pleasant and cheerful. Would that this happened every time!

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

I've NEVER received a renewal form, since 2005.

[rramdin.livejournal.com]

I paid the full year rate for one of those "partial year" permits. I found that if you make enough of a fuss, they'll issue you another (full year!) permit for free. Good luck!