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Frustrated with towing?
Posted on September 21, 2007 by Valentina Zic
Filed Under Uncategorized |
So is City Councilor Michael Flaherty, and he’s written a column on the subject for the TAB.
Worrying about getting towed due to street cleaning is truly one of the most frustrating things about living in Brighton/Boston. I’m learning to be careful, although it’s a little weird every Tuesday when I have to take out my pocket calendar as I’m parking to figure out whether the next day is the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th Wednesday of the month, to know whether I’ll be towed from my chosen spot.
I’ve also learned that too many available parking spots (tempting as they may be) on a particular side of the street is usually a warning sign — street cleaning is probably coming up the next morning.
Another issue I haven’t quite figured out is, would it even be possible for those of us who use street parking to leave town for more than two weeks between April and November? I mean, I don’t know of any stretch of road that doesn’t get cleaned at least every other week. (But perhaps this the price I pay for not being willing to pay for a parking spot of my own).
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2 Responses to “Frustrated with towing?”
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Frustrating, not to mention expensive. Living in an area amoungst too many students with limited parking as it is makes it hard to even find a spot let alone pick the side of the street I can park on. I live on Faneuil Street, the side that has NO driveways to park in, so that is not even an option, along a stretch of 3 family houses that also have no driveways, not to mention a handful of apt. buildings. Obviously the city needs to make money, but I believe $150.00 ($40.00 tickets, $110.00 towing bill) is just a way to rip off the poor. ( Or those who cannot afford or have the luxury, like myself, to own something of my own with my own private driveway or parking space ) Leaving town? Hmphhhh, don’t be sick on a Tuesday in Brighton. It will cost you $150.00
Supposedly there was city council heairng regaridng tow companies on 10/29 in Boston. No clue what happened. They don’t exactly advertise these very well.
I would have gone, but due to busines stravel, could not attend. I was recently nailed $270 from Cityside towing in Charlestown after they towed my car 1 block to their yard. It’s great how a $40 ticket can cost your $310 once you add in towing.
I filed a complaint with the Mayor’s office and the City Council. The Mayor’s office was kind enough to write back indicating that the Mayor supports the street cleaning towing program because it has succeeded in increasing compliance. For me $310, is 3 weeks worth of groceries. It’s completely insane that a $40 ticket can cost someone $310 just by adding towing. Howevr, instead of addressing the issue of whetehr towing should occur or not, the city council would rather hold a public hearing so people can argue over how tow companies are selected by the city.