City ticketing on dead-end streets- others' experiences?

[craigindaville.livejournal.com]

We live on one of the many dead-end streets here in Somerville. For the past untold number of years, the very end of the street has essentially accommodated three parking spots: one against each curb, and one in the middle. I have seen this set-up on other dead-end streets I've visited or come across.

Recently we received a ticket for parking in that middle space that was marked as "double parking- 100% blocking." Yes, as if it were a through street and not parked in front of a fence and earthwork berm that couldn't be driven through if you tried.
Since that time, about a week ago, we noticed other cars in the neighborhood also getting tickets while parked there, at least for the first few days after we did. We've spread the word as best we can with our neighbors, and intend to appeal the ticket through the in-person process (knowing that written appeals are automatically rejected no matter how wrongly the ticket was written).

I'm meeting with our alderman about this soon, and wanted to see if others in the community have also had an uptick in either this exact issue or similar parking enforcement oddities? Again, this spot has been used in this way by all of us on the street for years, if not decades, so this is either a new enforcement tactic based on a strict "interpretation" of the law, or a few new officers who, I dunno, don't realize what a dead-end street is.

Thanks for sharing; I don't intend to use any input in a formal way as part of the appeal, but it would be interesting to know whether it's just our street or others in the city that have seen this.

Comments

[smammy]

If you are parked in the middle space, and someone else parks behind either other car, that car would be blocked in. Maybe that's what they're thinking? I suppose it would depend on the particulars of the street.

[craigindaville.livejournal.com]

In that situation, maybe.

On our street, the two curb-based spots are the last spots on the street, with a driveway "behind" them. So there's only room for one car to part there unless a car blocks a driveway, as well.

The middle spot blocks... nothing.

I should note that we all park facing "inward" as if it were a one-way street, but it's clearly a two-way street (or we'd never leave). It's always been that way, although occasionally you'll see someone who came into the street, turned around, and parked facing "outward" as one would see on a normal two-way thru street (ie: passenger door next to curb). Those are the exceptions to the rule, though. Interestingly, I would think they'd ticket those on the left-hand side of the street for parking facing the "wrong" way, but they don't. They instead chose this odd way to maximize city revenue.

Unless I just gave them another idea unwittingly...