Goodness, street cleaning

[vibrantabyss.livejournal.com]

Just had a nice chat with the street sweep - he was parked in front of my house hoping that at least *some* of the people would get out and move their cars.  He gave up at 8:20, with nine cars still parked on the wrong side.

The interesting bits were: (1) they are going to start towing regularly next year (2) for times when they don't, fines will increase to $80.

Edit: According to tom_champion this is an unfounded rumor.  (see his comments below)  Thank you Tom for checking into this!

Comments

[miss-chance.livejournal.com]

Thank goodness!

When they don't get to sweep on my street it gets a horrible smell in the summer and there are flies everywhere. And we have such bad flooding issues in the fall, that I've often wished they'd do double-sweeping as the leaves are all falling and blocking the drains.

I do think they could handle this better by sweeping mid-day, though. At 8am my street at least is full of cars. But at 11am it's usually empty after everyone has left for work.

[keithn.livejournal.com]

This thread is the first time I've actually heard from people who are a fan of street sweeping. I've lived all over the northeast and this is the first time I've lived in a place with regular street sweeping. I have never noticed an issue anywhere I have lived and I have certainly never noticed a "horrible smell" or "flies everywhere" or "bad flooding issues." Maybe Somerville asphalt is particularly smelly and fly infested. And from what I have seen, the street sweepers don't actually clean up the trash, they just brush it around and leave it in a different location. And the leaves are ground down into slightly smaller bits.

I had always just figured someone who ran a street sweeping business has a friend in city hall. Starting at 8am always sounded like it was done on purpose to write more tickets since the vast majority of people don't leave for work until after 8am. I'm sure the tickets fund the entire adventure.

I would be all for increased fines and towing if street sweeping was only done once a month per side (like Cambridge!) and was done during normal working hours.

[miss-chance.livejournal.com]

I think my street has particularly bad drainage, but if they sweep regularly it's okay-- they seem to move any standing water around so it can dry up, and push it toward the drains. Plus at least on my street th light rubbish (someone's dunkie's rubbish that blew out of their car... that sort of thing) does get sucked up. And ground-down leaves don't clog the drains. Anyway, if there are cars parked on my side of the street when they come in high-summer, or heavy fall, we definitely notice it. Monthly would be even worse-- I wish it could be every week, shortly after the garbage pick up (like follow the garbage truck routes).

I bike all year round from where I live in Davis, to where I work near Union and there's a lot less gravel and rocks and broken glass, and other light debris through-out he whole city once sweeping starts up in April, as compared to March.

I think the 8am is done so that the sweepers are done the whole day's route is done before schools let out, so that you don't have kids running around with these large vehicles that swoop and make odd paths, etc. If we had more sweepers we could do the whole route in less time.

[lizzyclean.livejournal.com]

Oh my goodness, I really hope they don't start towing again! I've missed the street sweeping deadline three times in the 9 years I've lived in Somerville. None of them have been because I was blatantly ignoring the schedule. Back when they were still towing I woke up with a stomach flu and was throwing up all morning. I had initially planned on driving into work so hadn't worried about moving my car the night before. Of course, I was towed that morning and had to pay a huge fine in addition to being really ill. I kept wanting to go and tell someone, "I'm a good person! I was just sick!" but oddly enough they don't care about that at the tow lot. :) The other two times were because I just plain old screwed up and thought Wednesday was Tuesday. I think increasing the fine is way better than towing! Towing is the WORST. Of course, I live on a quiet one way street where everyone (more or less) follows the schedule and we never get street flooding or flies or any of that.

[enveri.livejournal.com]

argh, we're planning on taking a vacation for two weeks next summer. Guess we'll see if we can bribe a friend or neighbor to move our car. (We could eat a ticket, but having the car towed would be really really sucky)

[miss-chance.livejournal.com]

Your neighbors will be very grateful to not have to miss a street sweeping or two while you're gone. Things get gross around here when the sweepers have to go around too many cars.

When the time comes, you might try dropping a line here on DSLJ, I've seen people arrange temp parking spaces this way in the past.

[enveri.livejournal.com]

I will definitely try that, if we can't make arrangements for the car!

We live on Broadway now, so... yes, I agree. It gets icky. ;)

[axedmoon.livejournal.com]

Aw, he sounds pretty nice to wait that long.

[tom-champion.livejournal.com]

This is the first I've heard of ANY of this, and my colleagues at Traffic and Parking were equally surprised. I'll be following up with DPW and will let you know what I learn.

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

As far as I know, parking fines can't be more than $50, except for bus stops, handicapped spaces, and fire hydrants.

At least, that's what it says in MGL 90 20A 1/2 (http://www.malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXIV/Chapter90/Section20A1~2). (Don't be confused where it says Boston and Cambridge -- it also says any other town that adopts that section.)

But there's a chance Somerville had a special law passed at some point. Maybe that's why snow emergency tickets are $100.

Towing fees can be more than $50, but I suspect they're more than $80 already.

If I were in charge, they would tow for street cleaning...but they'd put your car right back on the street afterward. And the ticket would be about $50. That would take less time for the tow truck than driving your car to the tow lot and driving back to tow the next car, so it's more efficient all around.

[miss-chance.livejournal.com]

If I were in charge, they would tow for street cleaning...but they'd put your car right back on the street afterward.

I love that idea! I wonder how you'd compel people to pay the tow company in a timely fashion, though? If people left it until their next registration, I suspect a tow company couldn't wait that long. Maybe (when you're in charge) they tow the car, put it back and put a boot on it?
Anyway, none of this is likely, alas.

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

You'd have to pay the ticket, which could pay the cost of the towing.

[alphacygni]

I actually respect towing instead of fining. It seems more connected to the point of the whole endeavor - towing actually makes it so that the street can get clean! Fining just makes money. That said, I don't park on the street regularly, and I know I am lucky that way, and I'm sure I would hate being towed. But I also really like functioning storm sewers and useful curb cuts.

[jbsegal.livejournal.com]

"Instead of"... wouldn't that be nice? :/

[tom-champion.livejournal.com]

It's difficult to offer an explanation for this without knowing where it occurred, and under what circumstances. (We don't even know for certain if this was a City of Somerville vehicle or a contractor vehicle.)

That said, here is what we do know:

As confirmed by the DPW Commissioner and the Director of Traffic and Parking, the City of Somerville has NO plans to change current procedures for street sweeping enforcement. NO towing unless under special circumstances and separately posted in advance; NO changes in the fines.

The driver who provided this information to vibrantabyss spoke in error.

[ayelle.livejournal.com]

Phew!

[vibrantabyss.livejournal.com]

Many thanks! Guess I should be more careful taking the word of the man in the street, even if he has a cool ride....

[smammy]

Maybe you could update your post? Not everyone will read down this far.

[witchdogtor.livejournal.com]

Thank you, Tom!

[nathanjw]

Could you pass up the chain that there are those of us, like alphacygni and myself, who think that towing in order to successfully clean the streets would be a good thing to do? I am disappointed that this rumor is wrong.

[bigcats143.livejournal.com]

Somerville should post 'do not litter' signs and ticket people who litter. While it's good to clean streets to remove leaves, those who throw their food/trash should be made accountable. The main reason there is a rat problem is due to the constant source of food that is tossed onto the streets. A good mayor would have more pride in his city and not allow littering.

[curiositykt.livejournal.com]

Most of the "trash" on my street was generally from the wind or the trees, good luck fining them!

[anyee.livejournal.com]

Given the massive storm that may be punching us in the face next week, it would be useful to have the drains clear.

[tom-champion.livejournal.com]

Updates for all:

To nathanw and alphacygni:
Thousands of folks who depend on their cars would disagree with you -- strenuously. And this isn't about making money: under our current rules, violations are down, and so are ticket revenues. The $50 fine seems to be high enough to do a pretty good job of encouraging compliance, even though we occasionally have to work around a parked car or three.

To boblothrope:
That'd take a lot of tow trucks.

To anyee:
DPW crews are already at work cleaning storm drains and catch basins and will continue to work right through the weekend. And it's nice to know that some folks have noticed. Rachel Evans posted this message to the City of Somerville (Official) Facebook page on Oct. 26:
"kudos to the DPW for cleaning out the sewers on my street before next week's storm. Good planning!"

To bigcats143:
Litter is always a problem in any urban environment, but the biggest rodent food source issues in Somerville relate to improper trash storage and disposal on private property. The city regularly inspects for violations of this type and fines violators as well as working to educate them on proper disposal procedures. As for posting new anti-littering signs: there's broad consensus among Somerville residents that we have too many street signs as it is. And finally, when you write "A good mayor would have more pride in his city and not allow littering," you're just trying to push my buttons, aren't you? :-)
No mayor in the history of mayoralty has ever had more love for, or pride in, his city than Mayor Joe. If you have yet to take part, I invite you to join us in April for Somerville's annual citywide Spring Cleanup. I guarantee you will be surrounded by fellow residents who, like Joe, take tremendous pride in the appearance and well-being of their city. And it's a lot of fun, too.