Parking permits

[nomirena.livejournal.com]

Hello all,

In June I'll be moving from 02144 to 02143. Currently I have a Ward 2 parking sticker which doesnt expire until January 08. Do I need to get a new sticker for the next 6 months since I'll have a new address, or can I just keep this one since I can use it anywhere in Somerville? I see the logic in doing either, switching and not switching. Not switching would save me some cash, albeit a small amount, but every little bit counts. Switching might be the legal thing to do. Unclear.

Thanks!

Comments

[warlord-mit.livejournal.com]

I think it's up to you. I don't think there's anything illegal about keeping the current permit.

[ron_newman]

i thought Somerville parking stickers were citywide? Guest permits have zones, but not stickers.

[nomirena.livejournal.com]

Okay. I was just concerned that with my change of address, I'd need to change my sticker too. I guess it doesn't really matter, unless I need to get visitors' passes. Hopefully the current tenant will leave those in the apartment if she has some.

Good. One less thing to do with the move.

[ron_newman]

Before you renew that sticker, though, you'll need to tell the Registry and your insurance company your new address.

[nomirena.livejournal.com]

Right. Moving is such a hassle...

thanks!

[tt02144.livejournal.com]

The parking permit sticker is city-wide. They are all the same, with the exception of expiration dates. You can use it until the expiration date, anywhere in the city. Guest passes, however, are a different story. Guest passes show your address (a recent bone of contention with some!), so are only technically good within your immediate neighborhood or street. You could take your chances and hope that the PCO doesn't notice the address if you have guest passes that you wish to continue using, that would be your choice. I'm sure you could go to T&P and just get new guest passes without getting a new sticker.
There! Confused yet?

[grapefruiteater.livejournal.com]

I'd be careful with using out-of-zone guest passes. I know people who have gotten ticketed for that. Just FYI.

[ron_newman]

Yep. Leave the old guest passes behind for the next tenant. If you don't find any when you move into your new place, go to Traffic & Parking with some proof of your address (like a utility bill) and buy two more. They only cost $1 each.

[watchamacallit.livejournal.com]

I think the ward designation is for expiration date only. Each neighborhood expires at the end of a different month.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_meej_/]

When I switched wards in the past, I was OK waiting until the permit I had at the time expired, then getting a new one at the new address. And I'll be doing so again now that I've moved again.

Additionally (and good to know), when you *do* renew at the new address, you'll get a permit with the new expiration date, and at least when I did so, they prorated the new permit for just the portion of the year that was left. The only hassle was that I then had to renew it again about 4 months later, when the new one expired.

[nomirena.livejournal.com]

thanks. That is good advice. I think that's what I'll do. Just hang on to it until January and renew then with my new address.

[nomirena.livejournal.com]

It's the cheapest benefit of Somerville. When I moved to Somerville in 2000, the stickers were only $2 and now they are $10. Somehow that steep increase seems illegal. (and yet so does the steep increase my landlord applied to my current rent, thus causing my move. what can you do??)

Be careful leaving parking passes behind

[davelew.livejournal.com]

When I lived in Cambridge, I once left passes behind for the next tenant. Apparently the new people didn't have enough passes, so they xeroxed my old passes. Of course, those passes were still associated with me, so the city invlidated not just those passes, but also the new sticker on my car and my new parking passes. It was a giant hassle convincing the People's Republic of Cambridge that I still deserved my parking privileges. It ended up costing me hundreds of dollars in off-street parking and parking tickets I couldn't avoid before I could get my parking privileges re-instated.

I don't know if Somerville has similar rules, but just be aware that leaving th passes behind as courtesy can be dangerous. You know the old saying, "no good deed goes unpunished."

It's a Pain

[derekp.livejournal.com]

The last time I moved within Somerville I had a permit that expired at the end of March, I believe. My new home had May expirations. The March permit was only a few months old when I moved, so I just stuck with that.

When the end of the next March rolled around I went to renew my parking pass at Traffic and Parking (WHY is this still a manual process??) and was told they did not yet have May passes for the following year. My only option was to get a May pass that would expire in 2 months.

It's not the money I was upset about, but the fact that I'd have to knock off work early AGAIN in 2 months and waste god knows how long in line at T&P....

Re: It's a Pain

[ron_newman]

You can do it by mail these days.

Re: It's a Pain

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

So the expiration month is tied to the registration address of the car? Weird.