Authorized vehicles line tow zone for Sox playoff

During the first Red Sox playoff game, more than 80 cars and trucks were squeezed into a single block of Van Ness Street near Fenway Park that had been designated as a tow zone. A row of double-parked vehicles stretched from Yawkey Way to Kilmarnock Street.

A lot on Van Ness was charging $40 to park Wednesday night, but the drivers of these cars didn't need to pay. Each vehicle had a pink-colored parking pass on the dash that said: "Boston Police Authorized Vehicle" and included the dates of the first two Red Sox home playoff games.

Most cars bore the red, white, and blue stickers of the Boston Police Patrolmen's Association. A red minivan with tinted windows had a Boston Code Enforcement Police ticket book sitting inside the windshield. Inside a gray Dodge pickup truck, a blue Boston police jacket was visible on the front seat next to a neon-colored rain slicker. Many people who got out of cars on Van Ness Street wore Red Sox jerseys, team hats, and other trappings of fans heading to a game.

Police spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll said Van Ness Street is a designated parking area for officers working at Fenway who need quick access to emergency protective gear kept in their personal vehicles. During the playoffs, more security is needed, and parking can be scarce, said Driscoll, who declined for security reasons to say how many police had been assigned to work the game. The majority of officers would be in uniform, although undercover officers wear plainclothes when trying to thwart ticket scalping.

"The bottom line is that we would not condone that space for personal use," Driscoll said yesterday, adding that the department was monitoring the issue. "If that was something that was happening, we are not aware of it."

Twenty minutes before the first pitch, a woman wearing a Jason Varitek jersey stepped out of a double-parked Kia Spectra that had a sticker from the State Police Association of Massachusetts on the windshield.

"This is police parking," said the woman, who refused to give her name. She was with a man who was also wearing a Red Sox jersey. They said they were going to watch the game and rushed toward the park carrying long-sleeve shirts.

The vehicle was registered to Karen M. Toto of Golf Avenue in Methuen, according to a Globe license plate database. A man named John Toto lives at the same address.

There is a state trooper named John Toto who works in the commercial vehicle enforcement section, said Trooper Eric Benson, a department spokesman. Benson declined to check whether it was the same John Toto, citing privacy concerns.

Some fans who don't carry badges said it would be unfair if off-duty police got a free pass.

"I think they should pay to park just like everybody else," said Joann Sandler, 54, who drove from Madison, Conn., and paid $30 to park in a garage at the corner of Van Ness Street. "I work for a living, too."