Move it or lose it

The most common gripe I hear perennially from Boston residents is that the streets are dirty and the City should do more to clean them. Maybe 20 years ago the big street sweepers were made more effective by having parking restricted on certain days at certain times so the sweeper could get all the way to the curb. Cars that weren't moved were given parking tickets of $40.

Living on Chelsea Street in East Boston, I had to remember that I couldn't park on the even side on Tuesdays from 8 a.m. to noon and the odd side on Wednesdays at the same time. This required parking strategically the night before if I wasn't going to be up for work before 8. On occasion I forgot and received tickets. Now, however, the City tows every vehicle that is in the way, causing a bigger hassle and expense ($130), and today's Globe notes that some residents are complaining about this.

I understand the City's viewpoint, which is that people constantly rant about cleaner streets and this helps solve that problem, but I have to come down against the policy. Dennis Royer, who runs the city's public works department, says in the story, "I don't want to tow a car. But we're still towing, because there always seems to be people who forget or don't know what's going on," and if his assessment of people's motives is correct -- and I think it is -- should we really be penalizing people this much because they forget or don't know?

Towing should be reserved for people who block hydrants, driveways, handicap ramps or who double park and leave the car. Those are egregious violations. If the City raised the fine for the street-cleaning infraction to $60 or $75 that would be more appropriate, but the towing policy is a bit extreme.