It looks like these parking restrictions are technically already in effect as, although the press release is a bit vague about official start/end times and the punishment for violating the order. Regardless, if you’re parked on one of these streets, now might be a good time to start thinking about an early-morning getaway.

Follow the jump for the full list of restricted streets

Where not to park during the Boston Marathon
official press release

Beacon Street,
Both sides, from Chestnut Hill Avenue to the Brookline Town Line
Inbound side, from the Brookline Line to Kenmore Square
Berkeley Street
Both sides, Columbus Avenue to Newbury Street
Blagden Street
Both sides, Huntington Avenue to Exeter Street
Boylston Street
Both sides, Dalton Street to Arlington Street
Cambridge Street
Both sides, Bowdoin Street to Tremont Street
Chestnut Hill Avenue
Both sides, Commonwealth Avenue to Beacon Street
Clarendon Street
Both sides, Commonwealth Avenue to Stuart Street
Commonwealth Avenue
Inbound side, Lake Street to Chestnut Hill Avenue
Inbound side, Kenmore Square to 200 feet beyond Hereford Street
Dartmouth Street
Both sides, Boylston Street to Commonwealth Avenue
Exeter Street
Both sides, Newbury Street to Huntington Avenue
Fairfield Street
Both sides, Commonwealth Avenue to Boylston Street
Gloucester Street
Both sides, Commonwealth Avenue to Boylston Street
Hereford Street
Both sides, Commonwealth Avenue to Boylston Street
Kenmore Square
Inbound, Beacon Street to Commonwealth Avenue
Newbury Street
Both sides, Fairfield Street to Massachusetts Avenue
New Chardon Street
Both sides, Merrimac Street to Cambridge Street
Providence Street
Both sides, Arlington Street to Berkeley Street
St. James Avenue
Both sides, Arlington Street to Dartmouth Street
Stuart Street
Both sides, Dartmouth Street to Arlington Street
Tremont Street
Both sides, Cambridge Street to Stuart Street
Trinity Place
Both sides, St. James Avenue to Stuart Street

Needless to say, I’ve installed some spam filtering software so hopefully this problem doesn’t crop up again.

StreetParker.com - Don't Fear the Sweeper

We would like to announce Caffeinated Mind’s new web product: StreetParker (http://www.streetparker.com): a parking meter and street sweeper alert management system that lets you track where you’re parked, when the street sweeper is coming, and most importantly, allows you to set up custom alerts for when it’s time to move your car.

I have personally put a lot of effort into getting Street Parker off the ground and up to date so that it can be an accurate, useful, and effective tool for Boston and Cambridge residents alike, and hope that the inclusion of my efforts here doesn’t feel too much like a shameless plug.

The Beta version is online as of today, and it supports Boston and Cambridge exclusively for pre-stored street sweeping information (although it can be used anywhere for meter-minding and timed parking alerts) so please go check it out at http://www.streetparker.com and let us know what you think in the comments section! We’re still cleaning up some of our data, so if your street isn’t supported when it should be, or your street’s sweeping times look off, let us know about that too!

It’s rough out there from April through November, we hope this will help.

Let us know what you think!

When your car has been converted into a toll booth...

So it happened: you got a parking ticket. There are stages for this… first comes confusion. “Is that something on my windshield? Did someone spill neon-orange paint…” Next, realization “oh god wait it’s a, no… not a ticket!!!” Then, anger, “What the _ is wrong with this spot?? No one else has a ticket! I’m going to–” and eventually we all take the ticket off our windows, throw it in the seat next to us in a fit of anger and despair, and drive away while the paper mocks us from the passenger seat until finally, at a stoplight, we open it again to take a closer look and read the full citation, only to enter the final stage, disbelief “expired registration? Come ON!  By ONE DAY!!!”

So how can you get out of it? We’ve come up with a few solutions that seem effective in Boston for avoiding or escaping the scarlet letter of the automotive world that is the parking ticket:

1. Be a police officer (or at least appear to be)
They call it “cops writing cops” and it’s rarely tolerated in the enforcement industry.  Recently, there was a Boston Globe article about how no one is ever ticketed at the BPD headquarters for parking illegally for fear that the driver might be an officer.  The key for the rest of us, is that you don’t actually have to be a police officer, but merely give the impression that you are associated with one to up your chances of being ‘overlooked’.  Some options:

• placing something that looks convincingly like a ticket book on your dashboard. This is the “do not ticket me, I’m in the biz” calling card of parking enforcers everywhere.
• getting one of those black and blue identifiers (they call them ‘thin blue line’ plates) or stickers to identify yourself as a member of the ‘in-crowd’
• purchasing one of those ’supporters of the police’ stickers (that looks like a sheriffs badge) by donating to a police charity. 

2. Be a lawyer (or learn how to waste time like one)
The goal of a parking ticket is a quick monetary turnaround for the city.  They want you to go online, pay your ticket, and be done with it.  What they don’t want is to deal with you filing, refiling, and re-refiling arguments against the ticket, citing conflicting laws and constitutional statutes, or claiming photographic proof that is still being developed.  City governments are run like businesses and if the cost to enforce the ticket exceeds the cost of the ticket, you’ve got a shot at a one-time acquittal.  If nothing else, you could use this time to make a well placed wager at Foxwoods with the would-be ticket money and if your color hits, consider the ticket paid.

3. Be innocent (or so organized that you’d have to be)
If you can quickly provide physical proof that the ticket was incorrect, pack the 10 pages worth of justification into a manilla envelope, tape the paid-postage return envelope that came with your ticket to the front, and mail it in the day you get the ticket.  The parking office can be surprisingly understanding when they’ve made an obvious mistake, but they don’t have much patience for you to get around to making your appeal.  This applies to #2 above, even if you’re going to argue it into the ground and drag it out, get your first appeal in quickly.

So that’s it…one thing I’m going to include here at the bottom is- don’t be a jerk.  Especially if you see the parking enforcement agent writing you a ticket, the fastest way to get that ticket is to be rude to the man or woman who’s just doing their job.  Keep cool, go for the quick, clear, convincing explanation, and if that doesn’t work, prepare to fight the bureaucracy, not the individual.

Good luck out there…

At least we're not getting double-parked by diplomats... yet

There are few subjects that city drivers hold such a love-hate relationship with as double-parking. The don’t ask, don’t tell of the urban army, double parking is often cited as the reason for clogged main streets, accidents, and road rage in our fair city.

The question of what we can do is not easily answered either, considering the few options left to drivers who need to run their groceries into their apartments on packed streets before taking off to troll for empty spaces, or delivery drivers who need to pick up or drop off where the loading spaces have been overcrowded by competing trucks and illegal visitors.

So what can we do? Certainly some cities have taken aggressive approaches and enforced active patrolling for illegally parked cars, including double parked ones, hitting business drivers as hard as individuals. UPS paid nearly $18.8 million in fines last year. In other cities like our neighbor to the south, street lanes are kept strictly cleared, allowing the maximum traffic flow at all hours other than the early AMs.

But where does Boston fall on this list? The average parking enforcement agent in our city seems to ignore double-parked cars on Newbury, opting instead to check the robo-meter for quick over-time tickets. All the while, oversized double-parked Land Rovers, Jaguars, and BMWs force thru-traffic from lane to lane– blocking sight-lines at intersections and building a maze for all traffic: pedestrian, two wheeled, and four wheeled alike. The problem is rampant at hotels downtown as well, who let their valet cars waiting to be parked stretch three or four lanes deep into traffic while police cruisers quietly squeeze around the mass of dead metal without so much as a siren honk.

We’re turning a blind eye to the double-parkers and categorically ticketing where it’s more convenient, but maybe this isn’t necessarily a bad thing and it merely points to a natural mitigation of the ‘unique’ layout of Boston’s inner-city road system by city parking enforcers who have learned, in this one case, to find flexibility.

Sleeping beneath the snow...

As winter grinds into February, and with it the weekly snowfalls that are starting to make me think that maybe asphault has always been brown and white and I just never noticed, one thing that every car owner in the city dreads is the inevitable moment of decision: do I move the car today?  Sure, you’re running out of toilet paper (stockpiled from an early december Costco run), the local pizza delivery guy knows you by name because you’ve tried every ridiculous page-filler combination on their menu (banana peppers, squash, bacon, and anchovies? PILE THEM ON!), and you keep telling yourself that you can make it to spring on the trash bags you’ve got if you melt everything down in oven first… but when the alternative is digging your beloved vehicle from weeks of snow and possibly giving up that great space that you can see from your bedside window, the decision always presents as a deeper question than “should I take the car out?” might let on.

While my car hibernates, I visit it about twice a week on my walk to the T to brush off the resident sticker and make sure the windows are still there.  Once every two weeks, I pry open the door, start it up, and let it run for about 30 minutes, before giving it a quick dust-off, locking up the doors, and heading on my way.  For a while, I thought my system was brilliant, but no… I am merely an amateur to this northeastern winter city car storage paradigm.  The following are some of the other approaches I’ve seen lately:

The Cover Artist
He’s in it for the long-haul and knows every small corner store to buy every specialized winter necessity until April.  The cover artist hasn’t put up some cheap-o Pep Boys car blanket to protect his summertime toy, but found an ad in the back of a Canadian auto-magazine to buy his prized, battened down, threaded, and locked-tight cover that looks more like something out of an enterprise rent-a-car commercial than standard vehicle protection.  He’s got fuel stabilizer in the tank and his battery is neatly placed on his living room floor, hooked up to a trickle charger next to the canned foods stockpile.

The Best-Spot-Of-My-Life -er
This guy’s been waiting for that spot on the flat road outside his apartment window since he moved in last September, and he’s never giving it up now.  When friends come over, you can see him pointing from his apartment window, glowing with pride over his free storage spot.  After the big snowstorm, his roof is piled 3 feet higher than everyone else’s because of the old snow from the last storm two weeks ago that never got cleaned off.  You can spot this parker at the first thaw, trying to figure out why his car won’t start and nervously counting the days until street sweeping starts back up.

The Commuter
There’s half a foot of snow on the ground but the economy is in the dirt and the commuter isn’t about to risk a sick day.  He’s out there at 5am, swearing and beating his car clear of packed snow and ice.  You might wake up to the sound of spinning tires and a *KA-CHUNK* sound as he rolls back and forth trying to break free to join the rat race early.  The commuter parks wherever he can, bound by the maze built by winter street-stored care owners.  5-feet from the curb and the front is sticking into the main thoroughfare?  Looks good!  He’ll be back before dawn. 

The SUV Jockey
It’s winter and finally that 4-wheel drive means something!  The SUV Jockey gets his kicks in the winter climbing snowbanks and generally parking at least at a 15degree angle or abandoning the space for better terrain.  And why not?  Gas is cheap again and even though the concrete jungle is flat 3/4 of the year, this is the big chance to do all those things on the cover of the manual and finally impress all the babes old ladies walking in 5-layers-deep coats through the snow.

Happy parking!

Regardless, kudos to the city for giving us a break from digging quarters out of our pockets while we’re trying to max-out our credit cards on shiny stuff for the holidays.

OK, so maybe not quite this bad

They say Spring comes in like a lion and leaves like a lamb. Well winter in Boston comes in like a sheet of ice scraped from God’s windshield and doesn’t leave until the black and brown remains of the last storm are scraped from the streets and melted on the sidewalks. We’re approaching, at dangerous speeds, that time of the year when those of us who keep our vehicles exposed on the streets and at the mercy of a vengeful mother nature dig feverishly through their toolchests to find something that might break 3 inches of ice accumulated over the windshield wipers, clear the foot of snow burying the exterior, and give traction to the rear wheels so they can pull out from the tire-shaped ice-sculpture trapping them in place.

Yes, it’s an exciting time to be a car-owning Bostonian. We wait in quiet expectation for Jack Frost to come for our cruisers with all the elements of a west-coast governer’s portrayal of Mr. Freeze in Batman and Robin.

Luckily for us all, Park and Pray has some suggestions on surviving the weather to come:

1. Gas-Line Antifreeze/Antiwater - The popular brand for this is HEET, but there are competitors out there. It is simply an antifreeze for your gas tank, keeping small collections of water from turning into fuel-system kidney stones and bringing your car to an unpleasant, lurching stop on the highway. Although not all cars need this, my old Saab would constantly die on me in the colder months if I didn’t put a bottle in with every tank of gas.
    
2. Cooling System Check - Speaking of antifreeze, is that what’s in your cooling system? If you took short cuts over the summer and used water, it’s going to freeze up and damage the car. Remember, 50/50 split antifreeze/water. If you’re bringing your car in for any other service, have the station flush and refill it for you (should be free).
    
3. Ice Scraper - The ‘hammer’ of the cold-weather tools, you’ll need a good, long-handled, sturdy as hell ice scraper. This doesn’t mean you have to break the bank, but those clear plastic scrapers from 1970 keep your hands against the snow when you’re scraping it away and break too easily. Finding one with a brush on the back is a bonus for pushing off snow before scraping the ice.
    
4. Snow shovel - Your second blunt instrument in the battle against the white stuff. If you’re new to the area: yes, you will be digging your car out from snow not only from the sky, but also thrown at it by snow plows and overzealous sidewalk shovelers. Strong plastic can be better than metal to avoid accidently damaging your vehicle while freeing it from an icy grave.
    
5. Blanket - Any veteran of a cold-weather state knows to keep a heavy blanket in the back of the car just in case. Go to Marshalls and spend the $8 if you don’t already have one so that when the roadside assistance team finds your broken down car, they also find you inside instead of a human icicle.
    
6. Oil Viscosity - Many cars, especially older ones, like to have a lighter weight oil in the winter. Check your manual. (mine likes 10W-30 in the winter, 10W-40 in the summer). If you’ve got a synthetic oil in your car (Castrol GT1, etc) this shouldn’t be required as synthetics are supposed to work well in all weather.
    
7. Chains/Studded Tires - These are legal in Massachusetts from November 1st through April 30th, so if you really need to be on the road regardless of weather, they might be a worthy investment. I wish more people in the city had them, especially when I watch their cars sliding into mine while trying to pull out of an iced-over parking space on the hill.
    
8. Know your snow emergency laws - They’re different for Boston and Cambridge.
    
9. Parking-Space Marker - Don’t throw out that old A/C unit! It could be the perfect space saver for after you’ve cleared your parking space of snow, but be sure to get it out of the street within two days. Boston requires these to be removed 48 hours after a snow storm has ended.
    
10. Insurance - A few people I know temporarily up their insurance coverage for the winter months because of the tendancy for people parking to slide into your car while getting into and out of a space (especially in places like Beacon Hill and Charlestown where you may well be parked on a hill). Depending on your policy, this may be easy enough to be worth it (Progressive lets you make adjustments right on the website at any time).

Finally, if any of the above makes you cringe, store your car! Seriously, all of these issues and warnings can be ignored by finding a nice family outside of the city with space in their garage and paying $50/month to keep your car there. Check out the Boston Craigslist Parking listings for some bright ideas.

Good luck out there!

Mopeds use has greatly increased in Boston

Although gas prices in the Boston area are back down to near $2/gallon levels, the sharp increase over the summer drove many locals to explore other transportation options.  Limited as the T is, it is no wonder that a two-wheeled alternative took off in the form of european-modeled mopeds screaming down city streets at 80+ miles per gallon.

In Massachusetts, a moped is any two-wheeled vehicle with an engine size under 50ccs, an automatic transmission, and that is incapable of traveling over 30mph.  The registry requires a sticker to be purchased ($40 for two years), but mopeds are not plated and do not require insurance (nor can they obtain it even if they wanted to from the accounts I’ve heard).  They are allowed to legally pass on the right and use bike lanes on city streets, but are bound by local speed limits.  These edge-of-the-law vehicles are considered motorized bicycles by the RMV, but in light of the modifications being made to many models, and the simple fact that a 30mph flat ground speed often results in much higher downhill speeds, these two-wheelers can occasionally be seen cruising in excess of 40mph in and around the greater Boston area.

Of course the #1 advantage to a moped in Boston is the parking situation.  No need to find a space, feed a meter, or deal with garages.  Mopeds can be parked and locked next to bicycles or against any sign or lightpost in the city without much trouble.  Without plates, it seems unlikely that a ticket could be issued even if a parking enforcer wanted to.  

There are a few dangers to the riders when it comes to legal matters.  For example, when a moped does cross 30mph, it is technically an unlicensed, uninsured motorcycle and there have been a few reports of moped owners being stopped on this charge in municipalities surrounding Boston.  The trouble is that even if a scooter can travel over 30mph, with a sub-50cc engine the RMV seems reluctant to grant motorcycle plates.  The insurance issue is also a potential danger should a moped rider collide with a pedestrian or another vehicle and cause damage.

On the regulation front lines, the RMV task force reviewing laws for green vehicles that was established in August of this year is also looking at moped laws, no doubt with an interest in updating the rules to keep up with the increase in these vehicles.

Although the number of mopeds on the streets has decreased as the weather has cooled, it will be interesting to see what the coming spring brings with a generation of incoming university students recently stung by high gas prices at home.

A taxi ride into the city may soon have a $13.85 sit-down fee

As if the bad news with the increase in parking costs at T stations wasn’t enough, the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority has approved ludicrous toll increases across the board at booths surrounding Boston.

Let’s be ruthlessly mathematical about all this: Tolls are doubling at the Ted Williams Tunnel from $3.50 to $7.00, and to $9.00 for taxis.  Along with the $2.60 sit-down fee, and $2.25 airport fee, we’re looking at $13.85 just to get out of the airport.  At about 3 miles to downtown Boston, that comes to around $22.25.  With gas prices dropping, it’s quickly becoming economical to drive through east boston (the long way) just to dodge the toll.  Also, did we mention $22.25 to go 3 miles?

That’s just Logan.  I-90 tolls are also increasing to $2 at both Allston-Brighton and the Weston booths.  Again, cash or fastlane only.  If McDonalds will take my credit card for a $1 4-pack of chicken nuggets, I want to see the city looking at taking my card for a $7 toll at the tunnel, or the $2 tolls on I-90.  The cash-only operation feels exactly like what this proposal feels like: greedy.

To be fair, the gut response here is just as it was for the T parking increases: we get it, you’re broke, but we expect the people running the show to get more creative than “raise the tolls again!”  It’s almost as if this plan was designed to garner public outrage.  Living and working in the city, I rarely encounter these tolls and the hubris of this increase even offends me.

Commuters won’t be the only ones to suffer.  If Mayor Menino expects to draw more shoppers into the city with his “Mayor’s Special” (see previous post) to bolster retail sales, this certainly is not the kind of news he needs.  Boston is working hard to distance itself from the suburbs, and in doing so, from that formidable spending power.

What we need are the politicians to stand up for the people of this city.  These are the people who just two weeks ago said “don’t take away our taxes, we want to fund you,” and who I imagine are strongly reconsidering their opinion on the matter.  Damned if you do…

I, for one, will be happily clogging up the small residential streets to avoid the booths if these fare hikes are passed.  Maybe if enough people do this, someone at the Turnpike Authority will remember that these highways were originally built to solve traffic congestion and improve quality of driving, not just as a revenue source.