Saving parking spots during snowstorms

I have an electric golf cart that I park in my cleared spot. The cart was free after the federal government's electric vehicle subsidy. Yes... you paid for it and I use it to keep you away from 'my' parking spot.

Serious physical assaults over shoveled/claimed public street parking spaces in Boston are an annual event. The curious thing is where do these sainted people in South Boston/East Boston have to go in such a g'all durn hurry?; It's well documented that the majority of 'em don't work; are on public assistance and live rent free in public housing. (Including Obama's auntie.) With the public trans. system there, they are all within a quarter mile at most of bus or MBTA train. Only thing I can figure is they're starting to go through withdrawal and are in a frenzy to get to the liquor store and/or their drug dealer, so they feel the need to drive.

That's ridiculous - hope some more accidents happen to that neighbors cars. I think I'd shovel part of their driveway and start parking there.

We have snow a plenty in Minnesota every winter, and for all my 23 years I have never once witnessed an incident of someone "saving" a parking spot. The whole thought of saving a parking spot on a public street with trash cans and lawn chairs is ridiculous. And believe me parking can be a bitch, especially in both downtowns, but we actually have a system to deal with snow storms and the removal of their aftermath.

When the snow gets bad enough the cities declare a "snow emergency" which limits where people can park, either to one side of the street or to a certain direction (north-south or east-west) which allows for one half of the street to be plowed right away. After that side is plowed the city makes an announcement that the cars need to be moved to the clear side so they can plow the remaining snow from the snowed-in side. All in all this usually takes care of any snow with 24-48 hours during/after any kind of snow event.

It can make it a hassle trying to find parking since the number of spots is basically cut in half for the duration of the snow emergency, but who cares, you just have to tough it out for a couple days and walk a little further than normal. You people out east saving "your" spots on a public street are a bunch of sissies.

Even when it doesn't snow I like to stand next to the trail entrance at the park and tell people that they need to stay off of my trail.

Blue America ... you've gotta love it.

At times like this, I'm just as glad I don't own a car. My street gets chaotic during blizzards, especially this one. But as I live near a transit stop and a supermarket, and cars are money eaters, I have opted not to have one.

I see all kinds of variations on the blizzard parking theme: spots saved with chairs and other objects, cars just parked in mid-street, often at crazy angles... and I sometimes grab hold of them to protect myself from falling on the ice that the plows left behind (figure skating not being one of my talents).

As for parking in a spot someone has saved, in a blizzard of this magnitude, I can see why someone who has spent a lot of time shoveling out a space may feel that s/he has earned "dibs" on that space. On normal days I think reserving a spot is overkill.

But regardless of what I think, if I owned a car, I'm not sure I'd be ready to risk having it damaged by an angry neighbor just to uphold a principle. There's an old sailing ditty--"Here lies the body of Michael O'Day/ Who died maintaining right of way." There's such a thing as picking your battles.

My snow shoveling pet peeve: people who shovel out their cars and driveways, but leave their walks snow/ice covered. But it's not worth getting too worked up over others' disagreeable behavior.

The idea that anyone can park a car FREE on any public street is insane and a symptom of how f***ed up the country is re: designing our lives around cars. All roads should be toll roads paid for 100% by the people who use them DIRECTLY, ie no tax dollars should go to road construction. Do you want 100s of miles of 50ft wide highly precise pavement laid down so you can drive your f***ing huge car to your fat wife in your home in the middle of nowhere? fine by me - but you pay for the road...not the government.

In a city - if you want to have a parking space, it should either have a meter charging a reasonable rate (~$1-5/hr depending on small city v. manhattan), or buy yourself some kind of garage space.

Think the issue is whether it's the snow that's stopping you parking or whether it's the lack of space.

If it's the snow and there are plenty of available spaces they just need to be cleared then obviously don't. What seems clear from this thread is that it's very little to do with the snow and all about people wanting to keep their own little spot and using flimsy justification for it.

reality checker wrote:

The idea that anyone can park a car FREE on any public street is insane and a symptom of how f***ed up the country is re: designing our lives around cars. All roads should be toll roads paid for 100% by the people who use them DIRECTLY, ie no tax dollars should go to road construction. Do you want 100s of miles of 50ft wide highly precise pavement laid down so you can drive your f***ing huge car to your fat wife in your home in the middle of nowhere? fine by me - but you pay for the road...not the government.

In a city - if you want to have a parking space, it should either have a meter charging a reasonable rate (~$1-5/hr depending on small city v. manhattan), or buy yourself some kind of garage space.

It would be interesting to see what would happen if we made the cost of driving accurately reflect the cost.

Bear of Bad News wrote:

It would be interesting to see what would happen if we made the PRICE of driving accurately reflect the cost.

Ok, that's what I meant to say.

I live in NYC. I've never seen this phenomenon. Chairs in a parking spot would be considered garbage and fair game for the taking - along with the spots. What can you say?...It's a mad mad world.

reality checker wrote:

The idea that anyone can park a car FREE on any public street is insane and a symptom of how f***ed up the country is re: designing our lives around cars. All roads should be toll roads paid for 100% by the people who use them DIRECTLY, ie no tax dollars should go to road construction. Do you want 100s of miles of 50ft wide highly precise pavement laid down so you can drive your f***ing huge car to your fat wife in your home in the middle of nowhere? fine by me - but you pay for the road...not the government.

In a city - if you want to have a parking space, it should either have a meter charging a reasonable rate (~$1-5/hr depending on small city v. manhattan), or buy yourself some kind of garage space.

Pretty much every city requires some sort of parking permit. In DC it costs about $100 (I forget the exact cost) to park in you neighborhood for the year.

reality checker wrote:

The idea that anyone can park a car FREE on any public street is insane and a symptom of how f***ed up the country is re: designing our lives around cars. All roads should be toll roads paid for 100% by the people who use them DIRECTLY, ie no tax dollars should go to road construction. Do you want 100s of miles of 50ft wide highly precise pavement laid down so you can drive your f***ing huge car to your fat wife in your home in the middle of nowhere? fine by me - but you pay for the road...not the government.

In a city - if you want to have a parking space, it should either have a meter charging a reasonable rate (~$1-5/hr depending on small city v. manhattan), or buy yourself some kind of garage space.

So you don't think those direct costs will have an impact on commercial traffic or the costs of goods and services that you enjoy?

If you don't think urban parking rules, permits, meters and fees are designed to create revenues for the local municipality, you must not drive in the city much.

Your Supervisor wrote:

So you don't think those direct costs will have an impact on commercial traffic or the costs of goods and services that you enjoy?

If you don't think urban parking rules, permits, meters and fees are designed to create revenues for the local municipality, you must not drive in the city much.

Of course it will raise prices. That is what happens when you internalize an externality. I personally am fine with paying the actual cost of a good, including the cost of unsubsidized transportation. I'm going to pay for it one way or another.

Turns out you are justified parking in their spots (at least according to NYC)."Some residents try to reserve for themselves the curbside parking spots outside their homes that they have laboriously cleared of snow by leaving folding chairs in the spots when the car is not there. “We will collect the chairs and throw them out,” Captain Coalson warned."

Widespread wrote:

Currently living in DC, we are experiencing quite a bit of snow. Some neighbors of ours cleared out spaces on the street and put trashcans up to signify that those are "their" spots and that no one else should use them. I've heard that this is common practice in cities like Chicago.

My car is at my office parking garage until the roads improve but once I get it, I plan on totally ignoring these "claims" if there are no other unoccupied spots since it is a public street that I have as much right to as anyone else.

Thoughts on the saving spots policy?

hmm.... check out http://www.sNOwParking.com. Capture YOUR ridiculous Spot Saver pics and send them into snowparking@gmail.com. Thanks!

Bear of Bad News wrote

It would be interesting to see what would happen if we made the cost of driving accurately reflect the cost.

Your food prices would skyrocket. Actually the price of everything you can buy in a store would skyrocket. Would that be "interesting"?

And taxes for building and maintaining roads would go down.