Snow emergency

[easy-wind.livejournal.com]

If you are as outraged as me about the City of Somerville handing out $50 parking tickets for violating a snow emergency when... THERE WASN'T A FLAKE OF SNOW ON THE GROUND, I encourage you to write to Mayor Curtatone to express your views:

JCurtatone@ci.somerville.ma.us

Comments

We're in the news

[krist10.livejournal.com]

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2004/01/29/tickets_not_flakes_pile_up_in_somerville/

An article in today's Globe about this issue.

Our mayor looks like a bull-headed idiot. The decision to go ahead with snow emergency ticketing and towing even as the weather report was changing was ill-advised. It demonstrates very poor decision-making skills. And the mayor's unapologetic, and, frankly, rude attitude yesterday (to the news media and on behalf of the person representing him on the phone when I called) shows that he doesn't have conflict resolution skills either.

I'm contesting the ticket---I think a lot of people will be. The tickets aren't even valid when you look at the winter parking regulations (on the Somerville web site http://www.ci.somerville.ma.us/, in the "traffic and parking" department site).

There it states:
"A snow emergency fine is $50. A citation is issued for the following violations:

* Obstruction of a snowplow.
* Parking within 10 feet of a fire hydrant or designated fire zone.
* Parking within 20 feet of an intersection."

As there were no snowplows on the road last night, I can't see how I was obstructing one.

As for whether a snow emergency has been called before snow fell, I was going on what my neighbor who has lived in Somerville for 50 years said. Maybe that's wrong. Perhaps what he meant was that they have never given out tickets and towed cars before any snow fell. Hauntmeister, if there is a time when the city has done THAT before, I hope you'll fill me in. It doesn't seem to me that there's any precedent for this. It is not consistent enforcement, as the mayor is claiming it is.

[hauntmeister.livejournal.com]

Perhaps what he meant was that they have never given out tickets and towed cars before any snow fell.

That might well be the case. Maybe in the past the city has "declared" the emergency before snow starts coming down, but just didn't take any actions to enforce it. They started aggressively towing for street cleaning last fall, too. It used to be just a ticket, now it's a trip to Pat's Tow. Definitely a revenue-enhancement decision.

Re:

[hammercock.livejournal.com]

I really wonder sometimes just how Pat's Tow lucked into such a sweet deal with the city. I can't believe how much they charge to get your car back. I've been towed in Cambridge before and had it cost 1/3 less money, not to mention Cambridge also charges less for the fines. The snobby part of me thinks Somerville is a bit too big for its britches; the cynical part of me thinks this is all just revenue-based law enforcement. The net effect is like, "Hey, sodomize my wallet, please? Thank you, sir, may I have another?" Feh.