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Citizen complaint of the day: Who do those reporters think they are?
By adamg on Tue, 07/16/2013 - 10:54am
An outraged citizen complains about TV news trucks parking on the sidewalks and median outside the Moakley Courthouse:
They should use meters and lots like citizens do!
The city has marked the case closed, says three vehicles got tickets.
Neighborhoods:
Free tagging:
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Comments
sidewalks are not parking spaces
This is a pernnial problem in Boston, where if a flagger or detail cop, construction worker, T worker or media person can't find a free space, they just park on the sidewalk, on the common or some other park and the police do nothing. The Menino administration has been very poor at keeping sidewalks clear of cars and trucks. City Hall is one great example, but all over Boston's neighborhoods sidewalk and other pedestrian space is used for cars.
Hopefully when the mayoral candidates debate they can talk about getting tough on pig parkers, someone who unlike Menino believes (and follows through with action) that Boston should be a walkable city. Once Menino leaves, the car will hopefully no longer be king (and it wont just be an unfulfilled promise as it has been with him).
Charlestown
People been doing this in front of the courthouse in Charlestown / City Square forever. Court employees, mostly. Occasionally a police car. BTD walks right by them.
Try it
I park on the sidewalk all the time and never get ticketed or towed. I think the parking enforcement and cops think you must be someone if you park on the sidewalk and leave you alone. The best one is when I parked on the median strip on Causeway Street during a Celtics game. I came out after the game and not even a ticket!
We should also remove bike racks as they
also contribute to the sidewalk congestion.
heh
Well according to Merriam Webster
"Bicycles are not allowed on the sidewalk."
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sidewalk
* slow clap *
* slow clap *
They are allowed
as long as they are not being ridden on the sidewalk. Walk your bike to the bike rack, and you'll be perfectly legal, no worries!
I had to resist pretty hard here.
I got home from work and really wanted to +1 this again.
Wait, so Menino loves cars,
Wait, so Menino loves cars, but is also the "evil" man taking away parking places? I don't get it.
you know
this is actually a very valid point. Media trucks, often times, park wherever they feel like parking. There is nothing that gives them the authority to fling there cars onto sidewalks and medians whenever they feel like it.
same with
UPS, FedEx, Comcast, Verizon, or any sort of delivery and/or commercial vehicle. They just park wherever.
BTD tickets them, but many just see it as a 'cost of doing business' and absorb the parking tickets. So obviously ticketing doesnt help.
But I bet towing would
Too bad BTD considers enforcement of parking violations merely as revenue collection instead of actual law enforcement.
And
you're the same fools who will call UPS and complain when your package of organic soy milk is a day late!
well
i am willing to let UPS/FedEx slide for making a spot or doing anything other than double parking. however, Verizon/Comcast often park on the sidewalk and really go beyond what is reasonable and they are probably going to be at a location longer than a UPS truck will be..
but what can you do beyond ticket them?
I'm not willing to give them
I'm not willing to give them a break. The sidewalk or illegal parking space is not an appropriate place to conduct the business of a private company. I don't care if they are just making a delivery. If I need to deliver something I need to find a legal parking spot and so should they. If we need more loading zones or delivery spots, let's create them, but I am so tired of delivery vehicles parking on the crosswalk in my neighborhood and making it unsafe to cross the street. I think the average citizen would get a pretty hefty fine for at offense.
Media arrogance
In the media frenzy following the Marathon bombing, there were so many media trucks crammed around the intersection of Arlington and Boylston that all access to the T station (which was otherwise open for business)on the Public Garden side was blocked for a long time afterward. They had no authority to do this, they just did. Granted, the circumstances were extraordinary, but it is indicative of how arrogant they are.
Actually, they did have
Actually, they did have authority to do so. That was designated as an acceptable parking area by BPD if I remember correctly.
I'll start caring when they
I'll start caring when they start ticketing the double parkers blocking the roads and bike paths.
And
enforcing bike laws too right? Or is that going over the line!
I agree bike laws need to be
I agree bike laws need to be enforced, but I'm a little more worried about the drivers of 3,000+ pound vehicles not obeying the law. But shoot why we are at it why don't we start enforcing pedestrian laws too. Can't leave them out.
i though
you were talking about "Parked Cars", why does their weight matter, THEIR PARKED. Maybe you shouldn't bike with your eyes closed/head down.
Go home anon
Yer drunk!
I'm
not the one worried about hitting parked cars Swirly!
"Yo' Mama is so stupid, she got hit by a parked car."
Good one! Burn!
And you mama was your daddy!
Much ado about nothing
These vehicles are not monopolizing the space. These sidewalks are wide and there is plenty of space for moving vehicles. And it's not as though these vehicles are providing a service for only one residence, or are a lazy detail cop's parked cars. They are providing coverage of one of the most important trials in Boston of the century so far. The person complaining probably would have had a herd of cows had they been here on the day that Tsarnaev showed up. There were many more trucks parked in the area that day.
There is plenty of abuse of sidewalks. There are way too many people who park and block sidewalks in residential areas (the Courthouse environs are hardly residential). Just as there are too many vehicles used to disturb and disrupt and sometimes terrorize neighborhoods via megawatt speakers and drive by shootings. It would be better for the city to let news media report on something important and instead focus on suppressing drivers who want to degrade and destroy neighborhoods with their cars.
They can park in the lot like everyone else.
Then walk to the courthouse.
With
what, cameras, generators and 1,000 lbs antennas.
Oh, it's not nearly that bad.
They carry the camera, which is battery powered, and record onto some type of media. Then walk back to the truck and, oh, I'm sure a smart person, such as these media people, can figure the rest out.
While I don't really care to
While I don't really care to argue about whether news vans parked on the sidewalk is a big deal, I do want to point out...
They don't need news vans on the sidewalk to report on what's happening in the courthouse. Banning/ticketing/towing them will have no impact on the quality of coverage.
Towing?
Hell, I think that'd enhance the programming! Especially if it were to happen live! I'd pay to see that.
imagine
seeing a live report interrupted when the reporter realizes his car is being towed while he is on air???
"I am outside the courthouse reporting live...holy shit they are fucking towing my car, hey stop! that is my car!"
I am all for this
Sadly
A Google search turned up no videos of this type.
soooo
arguably my work provides a great service to many people.. does this mean i can leave my car on the median? park on a sidewalk? does this allow me to feel that parking laws are for other people and not me?
nope.
then tell those media trucks to respect the area.
and is it really fair to call all detail cops lazy?
I agree to a point, but a lot
I agree to a point, but a lot of times the media trucks are being used to power cameras send signals etc. Not saying that's a good excuse but it has less to do with laziness and more to do with access to equipment.
in the picture
you see SUVs on the island.. those don't belong there. I am sure there is a planned media area. but anything outside of the area, then you should obey the rules
"and is it really fair to call all detail cops lazy"
AAAA YES
not true
the detail cops working at the construction site near my house have been friendly, are always outside of their cruiser and walking about and making sure people can cross.
you should stop reading reading Howie Carr and get outside some more.
These are not the media trucks
The broadcast trucks have been assigned space outside the courthouse. You can see them across the street. They pack in tightly and don't even obstruct the cycling lane.
The complaint noted the private vehicles parked on the median strip. Some are media related, but these are all personal vehicles. They are not government vehicles and they are not the broadcast trucks. They are parked only marginally closer to the courthouse than the Seaport lot ($15 a day) and are across the street from a swath of 4 hour spots that don't fill until after 10am.
Understand something....
The media doesn't give a flying fuck about you and your concerns about their parking. They only care about one thing: ratings. TV media people are a unique breed because they honestly believe that their access to information makes them better than all of us.
And local media are the worst. All they want is that ticket to the big show like a network gig. So when they hand you that crap about the public's right to know, believe me they see the public as a bunch of mouth breathing rubes.