Short Lived Parking Victory
Jan. 17th, 2018 08:18 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lydamorehouse So, there's this one guy in a red pick-up truck that ALWAYS parks in front of our house. He's an employee of the Neighborhood Energy Consortium, a business at the end of the block, and has been for... years? Mostly, I don't mind him. I mean so long as there are other spots to park in during the day, it's no big deal.
Yesterday was day two of the snow emergency that St. Paul called. We live on a "night plow" route, which means that the odd side of the street gets plowed at night (it's okay to park on the even side) and, the next morning, everything is reversed. It's a bit difficult to understand at first and, if my arguments with my neighbors yesterday morning are any indication, a lot of people who live on our block are actually fairly unaware how it works... despite years of Shawn and I handing out fliers explaining it (it's probably time to do it again.) Even so, 9/10ths of the neighbors get it. The problem is that we have these employees, including red truck guy, many of whom don't live in St. Paul and are especially unaware of how the snow emergency is supposed to work.
I've been trying to talk to my local city councilperson about the problems with parking in my neighborhood for months. I've lived here since 1995 and parking in front of my house during the day wasn't a problem for years. It's only been within the past... oh, year, or maybe a little more, that it's become increasingly difficult to come back to my house at 7:30 am, after dropping my family off at school and work, and find a spot to park. It only gets worse the closer to 9 am you get. The street is packed by 11am.
I suspect two culprits: the businesses at the end of the block that don't seem to have to provide off-street parking for their employees. This was less of a problem when it was only Insta-Print. Now, not only is that building occupied by these NEC folks (who. ironically, drive off in vans all day) but also Hour Car. That's two businesses where there used to be one. The second culprit is something I'm sure nothing can ever be done about, other than me whining about it a lot, and that's ditch 'n ride people who for reasons absolutely unknown to me think that parking in my neighborhood and taking the light rail from here to whichever downtown they work in is a good idea. (Why here? I mean, I suspect maybe the folks who do it tried nicer neighborhoods and discovered more patrols from parking enforcement and neighbors who were willing to call them out. But, other days I tell myself it's because my gardens are SO IRRESISTIBLE.)
Back to yesterday, right? I kind of lost it. I have watched the plows--which are supposed to tag and tow in order to enforce the plowing rules--just skim down the center of the street and be done with it. More often than not, even when I go to the trouble to move my car and encourage my neighbors to move theirs, some jerk will park right IN FRONT OF MY HOUSE.
Lately, "that jerk" has been this red truck.
So I walked down to the businesses at the end of the block and asked them to please, please ask their employees to respect the St. Paul snow emergency rules. They stared at me mostly blankly, but one guy said the right things and so I left... still feeling unsatisfied. I stomped back home and emailed an angry note to the assistant to my city councilperson because she had foolishly told me I could "contact her regarding further parking concerns." I asked her if businesses had any requirement to provide off-street parking for employees (and whether now that the stadium was coming to Midway, if we could revisit any waver given to the businesses at the end of my block) and if she knew of a way that I could encourage St. Paul plowing to be more vigorous about tagged and removing the cars during the day time plow hours.
She got on it.
Before I knew it not only were the plows back on my street, but they had TAGGED AND TOWED the annoying red truck.
I was unhealthily giddy for a good two hours after that victory.
.
.
.
This morning he's back in the exact same spot.
Yesterday was day two of the snow emergency that St. Paul called. We live on a "night plow" route, which means that the odd side of the street gets plowed at night (it's okay to park on the even side) and, the next morning, everything is reversed. It's a bit difficult to understand at first and, if my arguments with my neighbors yesterday morning are any indication, a lot of people who live on our block are actually fairly unaware how it works... despite years of Shawn and I handing out fliers explaining it (it's probably time to do it again.) Even so, 9/10ths of the neighbors get it. The problem is that we have these employees, including red truck guy, many of whom don't live in St. Paul and are especially unaware of how the snow emergency is supposed to work.
I've been trying to talk to my local city councilperson about the problems with parking in my neighborhood for months. I've lived here since 1995 and parking in front of my house during the day wasn't a problem for years. It's only been within the past... oh, year, or maybe a little more, that it's become increasingly difficult to come back to my house at 7:30 am, after dropping my family off at school and work, and find a spot to park. It only gets worse the closer to 9 am you get. The street is packed by 11am.
I suspect two culprits: the businesses at the end of the block that don't seem to have to provide off-street parking for their employees. This was less of a problem when it was only Insta-Print. Now, not only is that building occupied by these NEC folks (who. ironically, drive off in vans all day) but also Hour Car. That's two businesses where there used to be one. The second culprit is something I'm sure nothing can ever be done about, other than me whining about it a lot, and that's ditch 'n ride people who for reasons absolutely unknown to me think that parking in my neighborhood and taking the light rail from here to whichever downtown they work in is a good idea. (Why here? I mean, I suspect maybe the folks who do it tried nicer neighborhoods and discovered more patrols from parking enforcement and neighbors who were willing to call them out. But, other days I tell myself it's because my gardens are SO IRRESISTIBLE.)
Back to yesterday, right? I kind of lost it. I have watched the plows--which are supposed to tag and tow in order to enforce the plowing rules--just skim down the center of the street and be done with it. More often than not, even when I go to the trouble to move my car and encourage my neighbors to move theirs, some jerk will park right IN FRONT OF MY HOUSE.
Lately, "that jerk" has been this red truck.
So I walked down to the businesses at the end of the block and asked them to please, please ask their employees to respect the St. Paul snow emergency rules. They stared at me mostly blankly, but one guy said the right things and so I left... still feeling unsatisfied. I stomped back home and emailed an angry note to the assistant to my city councilperson because she had foolishly told me I could "contact her regarding further parking concerns." I asked her if businesses had any requirement to provide off-street parking for employees (and whether now that the stadium was coming to Midway, if we could revisit any waver given to the businesses at the end of my block) and if she knew of a way that I could encourage St. Paul plowing to be more vigorous about tagged and removing the cars during the day time plow hours.
She got on it.
Before I knew it not only were the plows back on my street, but they had TAGGED AND TOWED the annoying red truck.
I was unhealthily giddy for a good two hours after that victory.
.
.
.
This morning he's back in the exact same spot.