Parking Tickets for today's "snow emergency" waived

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

On the city of Somerville's website there's an announcement from the Mayor and the director of Traffic and Parking, stating that if you received a ticket and/or tow for the snow emergency today, you can have the ticket waived (and up to $25 of tow fees reimbursed) by going to the T&P office or calling 311. Apparently, you'll be required to sign something stating that you are aware of the City's snow emergency procedures.

Details at the link above.

Comments

[tom-champion.livejournal.com]

What happens very quickly is that, when fines go up, so does compliance, and the number of tickets issued goes down.
If the City were purely interested in revenue, it would find a price point that most people would consider a nuisance, but not enough of a penalty to change behavior. (And, as noted elsewhere in this discussion, they wouldn't rescind their share of the towing fee on a snow emergency that was declared in good faith on the basis of the best available forecasts.)
I do know that the increase in trash enforcement was a direct response to resident complaints about blowing trash and, above all, vermin -- and that the new regs were developed with a substantial and lengthy public process. I also know that inspectors issued warnings for several weeks before the new policies went into effect -- and that this was quite some time ago.
I can't speculate on the overgrowth citation, but the City regularly gets complaints on this problem from accessibility advocates and from just plain old neighbors who think they've spotted a problem.
As for the final issue you raised, have you tried talking to the school principal's office? The local school administration may have a better handle on this than do the 311 constituent service reps.