Muv da bykz plz

[tom-champion.livejournal.com]

Per Ron's earlier post concerning Memorial Day Parade street closures, I wanted to confirm that bikes parked at or near curbs along the parade route must be moved by Sunday morning, May 27th.  And yes, that includes bikes parked at bike racks.

DPW will remove bikes still left at these locations on Sunday; they may be retrieved later -- minus their locks, unfortunately.
These are the affected streets:
• Highland Ave., from Walnut St. to Davis Square;
• Holland St., from Davis Square to Teele Square;
• Broadway, from Holland St. to Route 16.

Ron correctly observed that this information was not included in this year's press release, but I will include it in tonight's citywide phone advisory.

It's a necessary part of opening up the sidewalks for parade viewers, and we've been doing it for years.  I apologize for any inconvenience -- and invite you to join me in spreading the world.  I also invite you to come to the parade. It's by far the biggest and best Memorial Day celebration in the region.

Hats off! The flag is passing by!

Comments

[srakkt.livejournal.com]

One of these days, I'll enjoy Memorial Day in Somerville.

For now though, it's a big family holiday, and necessitates a trip to see the parents.

[tom-champion.livejournal.com]

Family holiday celebrations can and should take precedence -- what I should have written was "the biggest and best CIVIC Mem Day celebration in the region."

[ron_newman]

Hi, Tom! Thanks for posting this. Will you be marching in the parade, or commentating it in Davis Square as you did last year with Jimmy Del Ponte?

[tom-champion.livejournal.com]

I'll be in Davis Square doing color commentary for City Cable. Jimmy has the day off, so I'll be flying solo. Folks should drop by and say hello -- especially if they don't mind joining me on the air for a few minutes.

[ron_newman]

I'll look for you. Will you be in Statue Park?

[tom-champion.livejournal.com]

I'll be on Highland near Mike's and the Blue Shirt Cafe.

[sparr0.livejournal.com]

In attempting to research how this could be legal, I have been surprised. Do I read the city ordinances correctly, that it's always illegal to park a bicycle on a sidewalk, both because it's a vehicle and because it's an obstruction?

[ron_newman]

No, it's specifically legal to lock a bike to a signpost or a parking meter (but not to a tree).

From the Somerville traffic regulations: Section 13-8 Bicycle Parking

Bicycles may only be parked on a public way as hereinafter provided. Bicycles may be secured to existing public appurtenances, such as light poles, street signs, and parking meters. Where available, bicycles should be secured at bicycle parking facilities. Bicycles may not be secured to public shade trees or to other street furniture, such as benches or trash receptacles. Bicycles not secured properly are subject to impoundment at the discretion of the Chief of Police. Bicycles properly secured which have not been moved in fifteen days may also be impounded. Bicycles secured in violation of this provision shall be subject to a penalty of fifteen dollars and/or impoundment.

[sparr0.livejournal.com]

Ahh, I missed those, I was only looking at the rules in the city ordinances. Thanks!

[tom-champion.livejournal.com]

That's an interesting question; and it's one we've had to research in the past. It's technically illegal to block a public way (and sidewalks are public ways) with anything. So whether or not a bicycle is a vehicle is moot. Of course a carefully parked bike doesn't obstruct the sidewalk and bike racks are there so that folks can park their bikes.

But the City may always post and close a public way whenever it needs to, and tow away cars (and carry off bikes ) that remain unmoved when the posting goes into effect.

So that also means you shouldn't park your bike in front of a house that has valid moving-day parking placards.

Bottom line: it's legal.

[sparr0.livejournal.com]

"the City may always post and close a public way whenever it needs to, and tow away cars (and carry off bikes ) that remain unmoved when the posting goes into effect."

This is the part I have trouble with. Says who? I can't find anything in the city ordinances or traffic regulations that would allow arbitrary changes of parking zones like that. If it was legal for me to park my bike there when I parked it, then it's still legal for 15 days after that, no matter what changes in signage take place during those 15 days. If that's not the case, there's nothing stopping the city from erecting a handicapped parking sign in front of an already-parked car and immediately towing it.

[ringrose.livejournal.com]

"It isn't right, it isn't fair. There was no parking anywhere. I think that hydrant wasn't there."

I don't think anything explicitly stops "the city", sparr0. I've seen "emergency" no parking signs go up in Cambridge in the morning, after people leave for work, and towing begin before people come home that evening. There was outrage, but I'm pretty sure it was legal.

Sometimes the City of Somerville has legitimate emergencies it needs to handle. It needs the ability to handle them. Put too many restrictions up and then people will be complaining that the city can't clear the parade path.

[sparr0.livejournal.com]

I'm not necessarily saying they shouldn't have the ability to handle them. I'm saying that they haven't actually been given that ability, and this would be a relevant point if someone took the city to court for, say, damaging a very expensive bike lock.

Specifically, Somerville traffic regulations Section 8-6(d) specifies that temporary parking restrictions are only valid if they have been posted 48 hours in advance. In the case of your same-day towing in Cambridge, if it happened in Somerville then it would be obviously illegal. In this case, if they left the bike restrictions off the signs, then there are no legally enforceable bike restrictions, and they will be breaking the law if they impound bikes that are legally parked.

[elements.livejournal.com]

As someone whose bike was impounded without record or reason given last year (and while parked legally not in violation of anything), with about $100 worth of locks and cables destroyed at a time I was severely unemployed, I can say that such a person would probably not get much of anywhere. I was able to get the DPW educated about the actual legal abandonment limit (15 days rather than the 5 they thought they were enforcing) but I am not exactly itching to try fighting city hall to get my locks reimbursed.

[srakkt.livejournal.com]

Specifically, in Somerville, that sort of thing *isn't* legal. T&P has a 48-hour rule about even temporary emergency no-parking placards. That is, they have to be in place as signage at least 48 hours before they can take effect.

This very issue took place about a month ago on Orchard St. when NSTAR failed to secure the proper no-parking placards until the Monday that they took effect, and then tried to have people's vehicles towed. The police officer working as a safety flagger (whose name I didn't get) wouldn't let them.

[achinhibitor.livejournal.com]

there's nothing stopping the city from erecting a handicapped parking sign in front of an already-parked car and immediately towing it.

Possibly so. But there are one or more procedures for establishing changes in the rules, authority for which ultimately runs up to the City Council, which is answerable to the voters.

[sparr0.livejournal.com]

Sure, and if they enacted new rules then this situation would change. But they haven't.

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

If a note could be made for the future, I think it would be great if the No Parking signs the City has posted for the parade also mentioned bikes. Whether or not the City is obliged to provide such info explicitly, it seems easy enough to do so and would save effort and heartache.

(PS: Always nice to get a phone call from ya. :D )

[littlecitynames.livejournal.com]

I apologize if this comes off as a little whiny, but why was this call made late Friday afternoon instead of earlier in the week? People leave early on long weekends, and I could easily see people not realizing that they need to move their bikes, especially the ones locked to bike racks. I'm pretty new to living in this area and wouldn't have known from past years. I'm not upset or anything, just a little baffled that the call was made so late.

[tom-champion.livejournal.com]

We came to the determination back in 2007 that we would make a practice of sending out notifications of this type about 48 hours in advance. The providers of the technology we use and our own experience with more traditional media channels both provide evidence that calling too early tends to increase the number of people who forget the information by the time they need it. As you suggest, calling too late makes it harder for folks to make any necessary preparations.

In general, we've found that a 48-hours-in-advance time-slot is a good compromise I recognize that there may be special circumstances -- such as long holiday weekends -- that might prompt us to do further fine-tuning. But given the number of tasks we perform every day, I don't think we could do the work if we didn't resort to some standardized systems.

None of this is foolproof but, with 311 and Connect CTY, with somervillema.gov and ResiStat -- and now with Denise Taylor's highly professional work in social media -- I hope and believe we do as good a job, or better, at staying in touch with residents as any city in the region. We'll try to do even better in future.

[ron_newman]

The real problem here is that the annual press releases and alerts (which go out weeks in advance) didn't mention moving the bikes, as they did in past years. Hopefully that will be fixed for next year's event.

[littlecitynames.livejournal.com]

Very understandable. Thank you for the info!

[littlecitynames.livejournal.com]

(And I agree with you that Somerville does an excellent job of staying in touch with residents, moreso than other places I've lived, even Cambridge. It's one reason why I love it here.)

[sparr0.livejournal.com]

How does someone subscribe to these notifications? I've recently moved to Somerville.

[tom-champion.livejournal.com]

You can sign up online here (https://portal.blackboardconnectcty.com/welcome.aspx?eiid=1207B6088C3473A4637E) or over the phone by calling 311 (617-666-3311 from outside the city limits).

[rmd.livejournal.com]

One of the biggest, and best AND LOUDEST Memorial Day celebrations. Bring earplugs, because as near as I can tell, the end of the parade involves half of the emergency response vehicles from eastern MA all making AS MUCH NOISE AS THEY CAN.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

[ron_newman]

But the timestamp says you posted this at 11:26, an hour and a half before the parade started?

[rmd.livejournal.com]

Yep. I assumed they'd do the EVERYTHING AS LOUD AS POSSIBLE parade ending again.