Matt Viser at the Globe did a report today on how a few South Boston residents are hogging parking spots with chairs, trash barrels, and whatever is laying around. The city of Boston explicitly states that a person can save his or her spot for 48 hours after a storm. After that, it becomes hogging.
48 hours seems perfectly reasonable. Maybe even three days if the storm is bad. But anyone unwilling to give up a spot after that period of time is suffering from a serious case of Grinch. Shoveling stinks, but do spot hogs really think they can keep it forever?
Also, is this a problem limited to South Boston? Recently, a woman's tires were slashed in East Boston after she parked in a spot that had been saved. (Not to justify tire-slashing or general assholery, but that episode happened soon after a storm so the saving rule was in effect.)
Viser called South Boston a "parking-starved neighborhood," which suggests that maybe the existence of a municipal garage that would be free if there's a storm (as in Cambridge) or with reduced rates (as in Boston) might mitigate the assholery. The heart of the problem is too many cars and not enough snow-free parking.
And maybe if other neighbors who were physically able to shovel actually pitched in, the space-hoggers might stop using righteous indignation as an excuse for being a parking spot hog.
Believe it or not, City Councilor Bill Linehan said that hogging spots was a "cultural thing." That's nearly the same phrase City Councilor Chuck Turner used when he justified not shoveling his sidewalk. Memo to Councilors: You can justify your own assholery or the assholery of your constituents however you like, but pretty please don't use a "cultural thing" unless you specifically state that it is an "asshole culture thing." And Bostonist dares you to say "asshole culture thing."
But Linehan deserves credit for saying, "But when snow diminishes, there's a time to pull in the chair and cone."
The opinions stated in this post belong solely to this Bostonist. Image of South Boston parking sign by phil h from photos tagged "Bostonist" on Flickr.
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I was amazed that as that first snowstorm started, someone along my walk home in Somerville had put a chair on the street to hog a spot before there was anything to shovel. There was less than an inch of snow at that point.
I live in the suburbs. I moved out of Boston for the ability to get a bigger lot and off-street parking. Do the ignorant slobs who steal the use of public property feel guilty when they have half the drive to work that I do? I think not. Are they guilty when they pay a third less in property taxes because of the commercial tax base that creates much of the congestion? Of course not. Everybody wants to go to heaven, nobody wants to die. The price of a civil society is taxes and laws for those lacking common sense. Make it a felony for blocking access to public property and revoke the registrations of those who do it. Then, they won't need that space any more, will they? If they don't like the package deal that constitutes living in the city, move out. No one is forcing you to live in Boston.