The City With Its Head Planted Firmly Up Its Ass!

In the past few months, there have been at least two car collisions on City Hall Place (CHP) at the intersection with Cherry Alley, not a street one would expect crashes on very often.  One of those crashes, on May 30th, resulted in a driver being transported to CMH and both vehicles being towed away. One of the vehicles was owned by J. Mullen & Sons, the National Grid contractor who has been replacing our natural gas pipes for the past year (and hasn't been seen in town for over a week).  That "accident" may have occurred on one of the several days that I noticed Mullen detouring 300 block Warren Street traffic down CHP about that time.

Crashes on CHP likely occur due to a vehicle parked in the last space before the alley, cutting down on eastbound Cherry Alley drivers' ability to see oncoming CHP traffic.  Moments after you think the coast is clear, a vehicle comes out of nowhere and slams into your driver's side, possibly your door, as you try to pull across the street to continue on in the alley or as you turn onto CHP.  The city has understood for years that allowing vehicles to park in that space adjacent to the alley is not to be allowed if crashes are to be prevented and people are to be kept from harm on the short and narrow one-way street.  This seems not to be the case anymore, for at least the past three years. 

Today, a HPD parking enforcer issued a $25 NO PARKING ZONE parking ticket to a black SUV parked in just that space, indicating to the driver of the vehicle that the city does not want anyone parking there and that it is illegal to do so.

THIS IS WHAT YOU CALL A NO PARKING ZONE, MISHANDA AND ROBERT?  ARE YOU TWO ABLE TO TALK TO ONE ANOTHER?  DO YOU EVEN BOTHER TO TRY?

My conservative estimate as to when the curb along that parking space was last painted yellow by DPW is 3 years.  It could very well have last been painted 5 years ago, or 9 years ago when I was a HPD parking enforcer.  There are no NO PARKING signs on CHP near the alley.  I am not aware of any cyclists on CHP colliding with a vehicle pulling out of the alley into the street, though it could easily happen if the conditions are just right.

A common occurrence which makes CHP
more prone to crashes than it need be,
 thanks to Robert Perry! (Photo taken in April)

Sometime in April or May, I saw a DPW crew of 3 painting curbs yellow on Allen Street at St. Mary's.  At a subsequent informal council meeting during his DPW report, Robert Perry indicated that his curb painting crew had been out the previous month.  He even showed a picture of the crew in action.  Perry seemed to suggest that DPW's curb painting of the entire city was complete.  He did not say that the task was not finished, nor that his crew was not able to get to all the faded yellow curbs that needed refreshing.

The curb on the other side of the alley has
also not been repainted anytime recently

That enormous SUV parked on CHP today is creating the perfect conditions for yet another I DIDN'T SEE THE CAR COMING, IT CAME OUT OF NOWHERE "accident."  At the same time, our DPW can't find the time or paint to make it clear to all drivers that no parking is allowed in that off limits space that is no longer obviously off limits!  HPD issues the tickets to vehicles parked in a parking space that Robert Perry is perfectly fine with vehicles of any size parking in.  It's a lovely dance straight to CMH, isn't it?

If the driver of that SUV is smart, they will include a picture or two of the well faded curb with their written appeal of the ticket and the ticket will be dropped.  I doubt that they will make the effort, though.  Before today, the black SUV had 4 unpaid parking tickets, one going back as far as November 21st of last year.  3 of the 4 tickets they were issued are overdue by 30 days, for a total of $185 due the city.  They can probably afford today's $25 addition, making their current total due at $210.