Hey, there! Log in / Register
The Space Saver's Manifesto - with Q&A
By adamg on Sat, 01/31/2015 - 10:47am
The Scott space with bonus space savers.
A question from a Dorchester resident who came home to find her space-saving beach chair trapped under somebody else's car got fellow Dorchester resident Tracy Scott to thinking - and expounding. Over the course of a couple of hours on Twitter yesterday, she set down the basic principles of Boston space saving - and answered questions from skeptics. What follows is an edited version of her thoughts and her answers to those questions.
Husband spent 8 hours shoveling. Asshole next door took the spot last night. Husband went to a hotel because no parking. Crazy. He started clearing day 1. He did elderly widow, cross street walk & cars & our sidewalk.
In case ya never been in Dorchester, we get plowed in. Gotta shovel out. Parking here is brutal. My street looks like Alaska. Snow emergency my a$$. Isn't anyone FROM HERE? There are rules.
My beef is don't sit on your ass inside & hope snow just magically melts, then take a spot someone worked hard to clear. It's not like you shovel 1 day and ta-da! It's ongoing. If I work for it...don't take it!!
Common courtesy goes a long way. Neighbors have zero. We did our part, but it sucks that people don't give 2 shits about hard work/respect. Guess they were lucky he's from down south or they would have ended up on 4 bricks.
People are lazy, self centered and lazy. It wasn't always this way here. I considered writing to neighbors: Maybe we can number the curb and assign spots in winter. But people said I'm nuts, no one will do it.
We've now got 4 full barrels in the damn spot. It's sad and ridiculous that this is how it has to be.
Answers to reader questions
You are a better woman than me. If you do cover it back up make sure u tweet it :)
My cousin did that very thing, it was classic. He spent hours. I don't have the patience!
People suck. It's in their nature.
True but we are trying not to be bigger assholes. Proving to be tougher than we anticipated.
Where was the dude's car during the storm? Did he not dig out from somewhere?
Nope. A chick and she cleared off front windshield. Damn near wrecked trying to get out of spot. Went to work for the T. Came back & just took ours.
Shovel your car out but don't expect some weird ownership when you leisurely return.
Really? I gotta ask. No disrespect, are you from Boston? This is NOT Boston thinking. I know I'm not alone in this. You shovel, spot's yours minimum a week, if it snows during week, add a week. Normal practice.
So I guess I would now also have to start using a saver?
Only if you do some work. People who just throw a saver on a pile of snow have done nothing. That's not the same.
At least in my street most shoveled ones don't have a saver. Only 1 guy seems to do that.
You live on a nice street! On mine, you shovel & save. Many don't shovel & just drive over snow. Nick other cars getting out!
How does one shovel for 8 hours? Also you can not own public property, even for 48 hrs.
Don't own it. So we can all just live like assholes. Clear into street. Drive over it. Fuck it. Free for all.
Anything old Boston is gone. Get used to it. Now people just live off the fantasy of being Bostonians.
We have lots of those. If I live here I will live by the rules I grew up on. Let THEM adapt.
Neighborhoods:
Free tagging:
Ad:
Support Universal Hub
Help keep Universal Hub going. If you like what we're up to and want to help out, please consider a (completely non-deductible) contribution.
Comments
#Dorchester Privilege
#Dorchester Privilege
Really, EVERY OTHER NEIGHBORHOOD (except Southie) IN THE CITY DEALS WITH SHOVELING AND DOESN'T PULL THIS SPACE SAVER NONSENSE. GROW UP!
False
We use them out here.
WHY ARE YOU SHOUTING?
And have you been to other Boston neighborhoods? This never happens in Southie or JP? Maybe in some other dimension ...
Really???
Every section of the city does this, not just Southie. I have lived in the city my whole life and understand why people save spots (for a few days not the duration of winter) but can't wrap my head around the viciousness!
Not true at all
Not true at all. You don't usually see space savers in Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Downtown, Chinatown, Bay Village, and rarely in the South End. I think they're pretty rare in Kenmore Square, Allston, and Brighton, too.
Some on Beacon Hill...
Bob: Adam has introduced me to the wonders of Citizen Connect. For entertainment, I often check it out to see what's going on around the city. After this storm, there were complaints (more than one) from Beacon Hill of space savers being used there. Have never seen that before, but seems to have infiltrated that neighborhood too.
space savers
I never saw space savers on my street (north slope of Beacon Hill) until this week. We were commenting on how this person must have moved here from Southie and has this expectation. It ain't gonna fly. Already the space savers were tossed aside. Can't believe the viciousness either. Like the worst of the worst of middle school.
I'm curious
How does it work up there? Are people generally respectful about only parking where they shoveled, or is it a free for all and people just accept it for what it is?
Serious question, I'm looking to move in the fall and the neighborhood is on my shortlist.
Depends on the part of
Depends on the part of Allston/Brighton If you get off the main roads and away from BC they are pretty common on the back, residential streets, especially after these REALLY bad storms. Hell, some people put them out year round in Brighton Center.
Or perhaps the best way to put this, right now out my front window in Brighton I can see 3 or 4 space savers on my block.
My recycling bin disappeared last night which confused the crap out of me until I realized one of my tenents was using it as a space saver this morning.
I have a neighbor here in
I have a neighbor here in Lower Allston who uses a space saver every day to save the spot that's directly in front of his house. It's so ridiculous because the street I live on is usually only half full with cars. The guy can't deal with walking 3-4 houses (where there are always spaces) if someone were to park in front of his house.
Think I told this here before
Think I told this here before- but when I lived in Oak Sq. about 15 years ago- I was across the street from someone who had a sheet of pressed wood/ particle board about the size of their van that was chained to a utility pole in front of their house that they parked on/ used as a space saver year-round
You should visit Boston sometime
Big snow storm + having to park your car on the street = people putting something out to save your space. People find this hard to believe somehow, but it's been going on for decades and although Southie is known for it, I'll see references it to JP back in the 70s. Any place with basically parking on street will have savers, and I'll bet some of the dense suburbs have the practice, too.
The author has very good points. Someone spends a few hours making the area by the curb as clear as the middle of the road just so someone who did less than the bare minimum can park in that space? Make that the rule of law and watch how much worse things will get.
These are not good points.
These are not good points. Savers go out no matter how thorough the shoveling. The threat of violence/destructon of property is the same whether the spot is immaculate or still covered in snow. On my street in southie today, probably a third of the spots were empty, but I couldn't park in any of them. It will be like that for weeks to come. It's BS.
Park where your car was on Tuesday
Yes, people mark barely shoveled spaces, which is a shame. However, check out how close to the curb the tires of these lazy asses are versus the cars parked on Broadway. I haven't been on Broadway for months, but I can say with certainty that up by the point they are probably at least 2 feet out.
As for the folks who save after 3 inches, that's the BS.
Speaking of savers and Southie, I'm going to assume you're a big fan of Dave "the Cone King" Ivaska, no?
even happens
Even happens in towns outside of Boston. My street in Chelsea has space savers. And I remember them when I lived in East and West Medford, and Malden.
A few people on my street in
A few people on my street in Cambridge use them, though the city says they'll come take them away with no grace period.
untrue
There is a website especially for this . Happens all over Boston.
Eh...maybe a week is overkill but 24 hours is absurd. For 24 hours u might as well clear the snow into the street, put car in drive and screw it . It's a lot of work to shovel. It's resident parking only here - yet the same ones who don't shovel, don't respect the ones who do - are the same ones who have friends over non stop without parking stickers, taking up street parking. Living here sucks sometimes I don't know what happened to lending a hand, supporting your neighbors, giving a damn if a woman w a baby can park anywhere NEAR her own house.
A quick story. Run down house across street was turned into condos. 3 guys and 2 girls live there. 4 car driveway - which they rarely use. They have parties constantly and all their buddies comes over and take 4 and 5 spots. Well the snow came and they walk outside and see it. Go back in. Get beers, hire 3 local kids to shovel for them, leave to the bar.
Come back, kids are gone (they paid 1st. Dumb move). So they do nothing. Snow was everywhere . Next am the condo owner sends 2 guys to clear driveway and sidewalk (Husband helped these jerks too but before he did....). Hired guys and one tenant shovel their snow all up the back of husbands truck. Completely covering tailpipes and blocking him back in.
Please tell me where this is ok?? In my parents took care of me, I don't have a clue land? It won't and didn't fly in Dorchester.
Lies!!! Space savers in Dot,
Lies!!! Space savers in Dot, Southie, HP, Rozzie, JP, Mattapan, also, saw a bunch in Quincy today.
Clearly you've never been to
Clearly you've never been to Charlestown or the North End after a snow storm.
Happens everywhere
But all the Obsessive Compulsive people here are obsessed with posting pictures of Southie and making comments on Southie space saving.
Oh, thanks for reminding me
Might be time for me to make a swing through Southie tomorrow. We drove around JP today and were disappointed in how boring the space savers were.
What area do they NOT use them?
I have lived in every section of the city over the years. Currently in Oak Square in Brighton... Yes we do use them... Also in the South End (even though they pretend not to), Beacon Hill, Allston, JP, Hyde Park, West Roxbury. Must be the area of the city it didn't snow in.
Don't confuse the poor anon
I remember back in the 1990s actually removing a chair that was being used as a space saver.
Yes, it was late February, but there was very little snow (mounds of no more than an inch) on the ground.
And it was in front of a hydrant.
And it was in Roslindale.
Boy, though, it's been a hell of a debate on this issue. I do see why people on places like Beacon Hill hate them, and hopefully those in the central areas see why people and places like Dorchester use them.
This one
thinks they can just say “no one does this” and it’s true. Well, it’s false.
Park wherever you like
Dot and Southie are the exception, not the rule, for snow parking space savers. I’ve lived or worked in both neighborhoods. The residents are pretty much crazy regarding parking spots. Snow sucks. Shoveling sucks. Some neighbors suck. Nonetheless, on public streets, everyone is free to park wherever they like. And you can do the same. However, be prepared to handle the consequences in illogical Dot and Southie. My theory is that it all comes out in the wash.
Having lived it for years
Having lived it for years this woman's frustration is real and legitimate. But where she is wrong is that digging out means the spot is yours for a week and if it snows again it's another week. That results in permanent winter long entitlement to a space which is not acceptable. It is public space. It is not a lottery ticket to dig out a spot either. You get it for 24 hours. Maybe 48 if extreme (eg last weeks blizzard)
And how are people supposed
And how are people supposed to know when your 24 hour meter is up?
Reading this comment in hindsight
Boy, if we only knew what was heading our way, we would have all gone to Arizona with the Patriots and stayed until spring.
Ah, such simpler times.
Space Savers in JP
In the part of JP bordered by Washington, Brookley, Williams, and Forest Hills, space savers are just as common as they are in Southie and Dorchester.
Snow emergency
ended Wednesday at 5pm, which means in the eyes of the city Friday at 5pm was the cutoff for space saving. After that it comes down to either common (formerly well-established) courtesy or fear of the shoveler's cold-blooded vengeance; evidently the person who took that spot felt neither.
Just wondering
What do you do if
* someone ganked your spot
Or
* you were out of town for the storm
?
It seems to me there are not (at least in my neighborhood) "unused" spaces one could clear and park in.
Gotta put your car someplace, right?
Ps bikes can be parked atop snowbanks!
At this point
And after all this, I'm going to be awfully disappointed if this week doesn't end with somebody getting murdered over a space saver. I'm talking "SuperBowl inexplicably called off" level of disappointment.
As horrible as it is, it
As horrible as it is, it might be the only thing that would get some people to wake the hell up about this stupid selfish whiny-baby practice. "Waaaah, I SHOVELED, it was HAAARRRRD, so that's my SPAAAAACE", where's my tiny violin?
Damn Right it's Yours....
Wow, I'm at the last line and with ya......imagine all of you for a second that no one bothers, tosses the shit in the street, drives over it...screw it right, Well what do you all think happens to the shit, it freezes then we can have total mayhem as we all slide and crash into each other's cars......pissa......even higher premiums......get off your lazy asses, shovel it out and pop some old piece of crap from the house in it and call it your own......you earned it for the public service of saving all these lazy shits ass and snow jockey jerks dough on their premiums.....yep sounds just right from here to me
There are no "dibs" on public streets
I live in the South End. I clear a spot to drive elsewhere and when I come back my spot is taken. This is because I, like 95% of people in the South End, do not attempt to "save" a space. When I come back, I need a place to park. I shouldn't have to worry that someone is going to key my car or remember my face if I take a "saved" spot. It's not your spot. We all cleared spots when we drove away, Get over it.
Grateful to have a garage...
After reading everyone's comments, I feel even more fortunate than ever to have off-street parking, and a garage to boot. Of course, I'm in Brookline, so on-street parking overnight isn't even an option. Of course, we do have the turkey gangs to deal with...
We could have garages in Boston
But the idiots in the BRA doesn't even consider requiring developments have off street parking. Then they approve developments similar to overpriced housing projects cramming large numbers of people into them. They falsely claim that nobody drives, nobody has cars.
I drive 4WD SUV
I live In Dot and will never not drive a 4WD with high clearance.
I make my own spaces.
Not for everyone but it's my solution. Can't deal with the space saving nonsense.
My 70+ landlady makes sure to park in front of house and gets shoveled out and a space saver. She can keep it all winter as far as I'm concerned.
That's the upside to saving. For people that need it.
Is this only a Boston thing?
I've never lived anywhere but here -- the classic provincial Bostonian -- and I wonder if the space-saver thing is done in other cities. I honestly have no idea. Anyone seen it outside Boston?
I've only lived here and MS.
I've only lived here and MS. No snow there! I've read funny stories about NY, Philly and Chicago using them. I think we're just a lil more crazy about them.
Using space savers is selfish
error
In Fall River...no mention if
In Fall River...no mention if space savers were in place:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2935299/Man-faces-charges-shooti...
"A Massachusetts man faces multiple charges after allegedly shooting cars left in parking spots that had been shoveled of snow after the blizzard.
Neighbors also overhead him banging on doors and yelling about the cars that were parked in the street shortly before he opened fire.
Most people in Dot know the
Most people in Dot know the rules and respect them. If someone drove over your saver, chances are they didn't see it or are from out of town and don't know how we do things around here. In that case, I'd leave a reasoned note giving them the benefit of the doubt. If it happens again, you can always turn their car into a popsicle by watering it down every hour.