Parking is not a right
To the Editor,
As I read last week’s East Boston Times, I saw the letter to the editor from an irate foe of Resident Only Parking program. The program pushed by the Eagle Hill Neighborhood Association is one that I support. Parking in my neighborhood for folks without the luxury of off-street parking is often a nightmare. Too often, I have seen folks not from here locking up spots. With such a crowded community with a finite number of parking spaces, I think a parking sticker program is a measure that should be attempted even on a temporary basis.
Other parts of Boston and East Boston have resident sticker parking. Can you imagine Bremen Street without it? East Boston residents would never park on their own street.
I think as far as what City Councilor Sal LaMattina was mentioning, the issue of handicap parking must also be reviewed. I wonder many times if the prevalence of these signs is something to be addressed.
On some streets there are so many handicap signs that the streets should be renamed Handicap Avenue. I never see this in other Boston neighborhoods. The handicap placard system needs to be reviewed too. If one is handicapped, one has a right to handicapped parking but the neighborhood should have an epidemic of them, huh?
Finally, I think the greatest threat to navigating our streets and finding parking spots is the prevalence of double parking. They are everywhere. Often I have no alternative but to blow my horn which brings me swear words in both English or Spanish. The latest form of double parking is doing it at intersections in the crosswalk. Sometimes the hazards are on and other times there isn’t even a driver inside the vehicle.Last time I looked, double parking is not a right inside the Bill of Rights.
While I can feel for the plight of the letter writer, parking is not a right for anyone.
Sincerely,
Sal Giarratani