Double-parking triples the aggravation

It's bad enough trying to get around Boston's narrow, vehicle-choked streets during the morning and evening rush hours, when the roads often look like 10 tons of metal stuffed into a 5-ton bag.

Tipster Jim Barrows of Roslindale tells GlobeWatch he thinks one huge part of the gridlock problem is caused by that maddening and immutable scourge known as the double-parker. Barrows wants to know why the problem seems to go on unabated and why the city doesn't do more to punish scofflaws.

"Hello, does the City of Boston impose any restrictions on double-parking along major streets, such as Dorchester Avenue, Mass. Ave, Boylston and Washington streets, from 7 to 10 a.m. and between 4 and 7 p.m.?" he writes. "I have never once seen a car or delivery vehicle get ticketed or forced to move along when they are double-parked . . . even when police cruisers drive by. This seems like an excellent opportunity for police officers or BTD staff to patrol on bicycles."

GlobeWatch has seen double-parking in virtually every neighborhood, of course, but notes that some areas seem especially bad, including Huntington Avenue in Brigham Circle, Tremont Street in the South End, and Boylston Street in Copley Square.

An afternoon visit to Boylston Street last week found an assortment of double--parked parcel and beer delivery trucks, a US mail truck, taxi cabs, and several cars clogging the street, making it hard for a working ambulance to get by.

"Double-parking will not be tolerated," said Boston's Transportation Department commissioner, Thomas Tinlin. It's not just an inconvenience for drivers, he says, but a public safety hazard. "I don't think they understand the ramifications of their selfish acts," he said of those who double-park for every reason under the sun, from making a beer delivery to simply getting a cup of coffee on the way to the office.

In the fiscal year that ended June 30, the department issued 50,976 tickets at $45 each for double-parking in downtown Boston, an area that extends from Mass. Ave. to Charlestown, said Chris Loh, a city spokesman. Across all other parts of the city, 8,558 tickets at $30 apiece were handed out, he said.

During peak hours, 10 percent more enforcement officers are watching major thoroughfares, if not always ticketing then making themselves visible to scare off those considering double-parking, said Tinlin. Since last year, the city has sent out tow trucks capable of hauling off large commercial trucks double-parked while making deliveries. On average, the agency has 40 delivery trucks towed each month, and the practice is a successful deterrent even if the tow trucks don't end up seizing violators, Tinlin says.

"You'd be surprised at how driver behavior changes. All of a sudden the driver reappears and remembers where the loading dock is," he said, noting his department works with businesses to secure loading-zone permits if they don't have off-street access for deliveries. The city also sends out enforcement officers to inform truck drivers of where they can park when loading and unloading, he said. One program that hasn't worked was parking meters on Newbury Street reserved solely for commercial vehicles before 11 a.m. "It wasn't being maximized as we hoped," said Tinlin.

WHO'S IN CHARGE
Thomas J. Tinlin
Commissioner
Boston Transportation Department
1 City Hall Square, Room 721
Boston, MA 02201-2026
617-635-4680