Snow emergency lifted

[sonofabish.livejournal.com]

Still a few bugs in the system. About 10 minutes ago I received email notification that the snow emergency was listed at midnight last night and that residents had 2 hours to move their cars from municipal lots or be ticketed and towed. I mean, huh????

SNOW EMERGENCY LIFTED IN SOMERVILLE AS OF MIDNIGHT FRIDAY NIGHT

SOMERVILLE- The City of Somerville has lifted its snow emergency, as of
midnight Friday. Residents who parked in municipal lots during the
snow emergency have a two-hour window starting at that time in which to move
their vehicles. Cars still parked in municipal or school lots after 2
a.m.are subject to ticketing and towing. Residents are required by
city ordinance to shovel, salt or sand their sidewalks, but may not shovel
snow into the street. Failure to comply by 1 p.m.tomorrow, December 10, may
result in a $25.00 fine.

I am curious if anyone has gone out to their car to find it either ticketed or towed and if so what kind of holy hell will be raised.

Comments

[ellf.livejournal.com]

God forbid you actually went to bed, as opposed to sat up waiting for the city to decide that it was time for you to move your car, eh?

[sonofabish.livejournal.com]

totally. I got home from work at 3am and was going to park in the schoolyard next door (our neighborhood municipal lot) but saw there were no other cars in there so my suspicions were raised and I found another spot on the street. Good thing because I'd now be out all the money I earned yesterday.

[guxx.livejournal.com]

What I've never understood about snow emergencies and moving cars is the example of someone who lives alone and/or has one set of car keys and goes on vacation for two weeks, taking said keys with him. During that timespan, there is a snowstorm and these rules take effect. The car is on the street...and is ticketed and towed. What was the person supposed to do prior to going on vacation? Leave the keys with a neighbor?

[treacle-well.livejournal.com]

What was the person supposed to do prior to going on vacation? Leave the keys with a neighbor?

Well, yeah, or something like it. It's New England. It snows in winter. So if you go away for two weeks without your car you take that into account, and either take preventive measures or take the risk.

What I've typically done is: 1) left the key with a roomate (when I wasn't living alone) or 2) left the car in the driveway of a suburban friend.

[sonofabish.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's a huge quandry. Even during the summer with the street cleaning schedule there's a similar problem. I sometimes go on the road for a month or 2 and every time I do, I leave my car at my mother's in NH. One $20 bus ticket is cheaper than the alternative.

[rxrfrx.livejournal.com]

It is illegal to park a car in the same spot on the street in Somerville for more than 48 hours.

[prog.livejournal.com]

True, but generally this isn't enforced outside of winter -- I got zapped by it last year when my car was very obviously snow-covered several days after the last storm. It's therefore a good idea to dig out your car even if you don't plan on using it very soon.

[four-thorns.livejournal.com]

it was enforced on my car once in september-- and i hadn't even been in the spot for more than 48 hours! the spot right in front of my house was always open when i got home from work, so i always parked there, and somehow that made them think i was there for over 48 hours in a row.

i contested it and brought in my pay stubs from my place of work in needham and a burlington movie theater ticket stub from the day of the parking ticket, as evidence of having driven during the time period in which i was supposed to have been there for more than 48 hours and the guy said it didn't count because i "could have taken somebody else's car". yes. because that is why i have a car in the first place. so i can NOT drive it to work every day.

after that, i started delibarately not parking in front of my house every other day.

[artemii.livejournal.com]

that's crazy!

[simply-juniper.livejournal.com]

That's complete BS on their part. Grr to them!

[rxrfrx.livejournal.com]

thanks for the tip. i've only parked 48+ hours a couple times, and never thought it would really be enforced.

[on-reserve.livejournal.com]

The most low cost option would be to park your car at Alewife. It's only $4 (unless they've upped it since I last parked there) per 24 hours. I think they only tow your car if it's been parked there and unattended for more than 30 days.

[ah42.livejournal.com]

Park on the odd side of the street :)

[sonofabish.livejournal.com]

No, because there's some messed-up law that you have I think 48 hours to clean and move your car or else it can still be ticketed/towed, even (ha ha) if it is parked on the odd side of the street. Go back to last year's entries.

[tahnan.livejournal.com]

And of course you're not allowed to park your car in the same place for more than 24 hours, if I recall correctly from when I actually had a car. Leave your car uncleaned of snow, and you're advertising the fact that you haven't moved it for 24 hours.

[ah42.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, I know. I was part of that thread the last three winters running, IIRC. (or at least was aware of it)

I had a ticket for just that... it's the same law that says you can't leave a car parked for 24 consecutive hours in the same place.

All you need to do is have someone wipe off the windshield a little, expose any parking permits, and mess up the plow line enough to make it look like the car's been driven :)

Much easier than trying to find another parking space, IMO.

[knowthyself.livejournal.com]

Both my roommate and myself had $100 tickets for being parked on Holland St. during a snow emergency on Friday afternoon (that being when the tickets were given, they were found much later on). Both of us have the same issue with this--it's not marked ANYWHERE nearby that it's a tow zone or a no parking zone during a snow emergency, and when the heck was it declared a snow emergency, and how exactly were we supposed to know that? Not to mention it was ticketed during my regular working hours (granted I had gotten out early, but regardless), so in theory, how was I suppose to move my car when I wasn't there, for a snow emergency I didn't know had definitely been declared, on a street where nothing even says I can't park there during a snow emergency? WTF, mate?