I have to disagree with your last point. If someone invests large amounts of time and effort shoveling out a space in front of their house, it is only common courtesy to respect that THEY did the work, THEY should reap the reward. Growing up in the snowy Midwest, this was an unspoken but almost universally respected rule.

by Erica on Feb 23, 2010 4:28 pm  

And, it is only common courtesy that when they shovel off the sidewalk in front of their houses that they be able to collect tolls from pedestrians. THEY did the work; THEY should reap the reward. At least that's what we did in Boston.

by D. Murphy on Feb 23, 2010 4:42 pm  

Little different, don't you think? My walking on the sidewalk doesn't stop you from doing so - unlike residential parking. Not to mention, there is no legal obligation to shovel out a parking spot.

by Erica on Feb 23, 2010 4:47 pm  

Growing up in Buffalo, which I think we call all agree is extremely snowy, I never saw anyone save spaces. Not once. I was gobsmacked when I moved to the area and saw people doing this.

However, I do have to say that this is one of those things that is hard to break out of on your own. If everyone else on your block has done this, you more or less have to do it or you'll find that you'll have nowhere to park yourself.

It's interesting to see how the psychology of this works. People here in Baltimore finally took the chairs out of the spots over the last couple of days. What's funny is that it's not as if there's more parking out there -- the spots that were blocked with piles of snow are still blocked. It's just that the panic is over.

by Josh Fruhlinger on Feb 23, 2010 4:53 pm  

@Erica,

In my part of the Midwest where I grew up, saving spaces did not happen at all.

Then again, everybody did their fair part in shoveling. And people knew how to drive in the snow. And they realized that 40 inches of snow will tend to stick around for a while.

by Alex B. on Feb 23, 2010 4:53 pm  

Kind of hard to say for sure that the snow in those pictures was dumped from 66. Seems like about as much snow as in other places in the background.

by Lou on Feb 23, 2010 4:54 pm  

WMATA did NOT fire the driver: the Fox5 link now says that the driver was NOT fired, but has been removed from driving and is undergoing drug and alcohol testing (coz obviously the reason he should be fired is do to with drinking and drugs?).

This illustrates the reason that I am not supportive of more money to WMATA, unlike many on this blog. There is clear evidence that the driver violated rules, endangered passengers, and yet still an employee. WMATA needs to start with management and labor reforms, since labor is the largest component of their budget, and is clearly one of the more dysfunctional parts.

by SJE on Feb 23, 2010 5:11 pm  

@Erica, other people that park on the street and drive also had to shovel out a spot. It's not like its a bunch of people freeloading off your hard work. People have to park somewhere.

Anyways, I saw a sign to the exact opposite of this during the storm. Someone took a parking cone from a "reserved spot", attached a note about how it is a public spot, and placed it outside an apartment building nearby.

by Brian S on Feb 23, 2010 5:11 pm  

Fox 5 may have jumped the gun on the firing of the bus operator. I don't think the operator has been fired yet. There are apparently some significant discrepancies in the account of the witness who provided the photos. That doesn't mean that the operator won't be fired, but I think Metro is digging a little deeper before they take action.

by kreeggo on Feb 23, 2010 5:16 pm  

re Metrobus driver:
any updates on Carla Proctor, who WMATA fired after almost killing a pedestrian? Last I heard was that Proctor was appealing her dismissal.

Anyway, for an agency short of money, WMATA is now facing a $30 million lawsuit, which heavily relies on the agency failing to fire Proctor despite evidence of previous accidents.

by SJE on Feb 23, 2010 5:19 pm  

Has parking been a problem recently? I hadn't noticed......

by rg on Feb 23, 2010 5:19 pm  

Sorry, "collisions." "accidents" are unforseen.

by SJE on Feb 23, 2010 5:20 pm  

The Lynchburg train is making a profit? That's impossible, nobody rides trains, they suck up all our tax money!

Why don't reporters ever go back to the naysayers to ask them what they think of the success of rail? They love reporting on how these people think it will fail....but never go back to make them eat crow.

by J on Feb 23, 2010 6:02 pm  

You know what you get for spending all that effort and time getting your car out? You get your car out! Congratulations!

by Reid on Feb 23, 2010 6:06 pm  

Oh and Buffalo doesn't have this problem since they ban on street parking during the winter.

by Reid on Feb 23, 2010 6:08 pm  

Um, Reid, trust me, Buffalo does not ban on-street parking in the winter. In the city, there are many areas, including the block where I grew up, where some or all houses lack driveways. Where would you park if not on the street?

by jfruh on Feb 23, 2010 6:16 pm  

Repeat after me: "I did not shovel a *space* out - I shovelled my *car* out". Huge difference. And once you move your car from that space, that does not give you ownership privleges on that space just because you shovelled out your car. Get over yourself.

by andy on Feb 23, 2010 6:19 pm  

Many, many people on my block will key a non-neighbor's car if they were to park it on our street immediately after the storm.

You may not like it, but that's the rule on our street.

by mch on Feb 23, 2010 6:37 pm  

Sorry, but all pontificating about what the law says, the reality is a bit different. Having grown up in NYC, we all marked our cleaned out parking spots and we all knew mysterious bad things happened to those who parked in that spot. It generally lasted for a few days until the snow (and panic) melted away. Somehow, we all managed to live in relative peace.

by Fritz on Feb 23, 2010 7:43 pm  

The December report on the Lynchburg extension is out, too. In December ridership on the line beat estimates by 158%. Revenue beat estimates by 193%. The amount by which reality exceeds estimates has been increasing each month. Ridership beat estimates in October by 97%, November by 136%, December by 158%. Revenue beat estimates in October by 89%, November 156%, December 193%. By any standards this has been a success.

by jim on Feb 23, 2010 9:21 pm  

@Alex B., good observation. Also, what these folks are forgetting is that they shovelled out their cars ... before getting ticketed for overparking. Oh wait, I forgot, CM Graham repealed the '72 hrs max' parking rule that used to exist to ensure that people didn't start to feel possesive about the curbside parking which the citizens of this city so generously shared with them ...

If you want a reserved spot, then pay for it.

I still want to know when all those cars parking illegally in public space on New Hampshire just south of U Street are going to get ticketed ... every day. How obnoxious to be using our public space like a private parking area!

by Lance on Feb 23, 2010 10:28 pm  

This is the kind of discussion that can really make a non-driver feel smug about missing out on so much BS.

From my perspective, all I can say is that the curbside doohickeys looked incredibly tacky.

PS - I grew up where it snows and people drive, but didn't see this until coming here.

by Lucre on Feb 23, 2010 10:55 pm  

Rochester, NY has an effective way of addressing snow-bound parking spaces: alternate street parking. MWF you park on one side of the street and TRSS you park on the other side. That way a snow plow can clean to one of the curbs one day, then come back the next day (or two days later for weekends) to finish the job. I lived there for 5 winters and on-street parking was never much worse than in the summer.

Added bonus to alternate street parking: Abandoned or warehoused cars are identified and towed *really* quick.

by GhettoBurbs on Feb 23, 2010 11:12 pm  

@GhettoBurbs,

Yes, most snow cities have some sort of alternate side parking restriction that accompanies a Snow Emergency - this forces all cars on the street to be moved after a snow event on every street, and it allows the city to plow from curb to curb fairly soon after.

The key, however, is that those cities have enough plow equipment to be able to plow the streets quickly and effectively. St. Paul, MN, for example, has (aside from the usual snow emergency routes that get plowed first) day plow routes and night plow routes. It's simple - no parking on night plow routes during the first night of a snow emergency, etc. The key is that you have to have enough plows to get all the streets in one night shift. I don't think DC has that capacity, nor would such an investment really be all that wise.

The other reality is that plowed snow is still there. Minneapolis, MN uses alternate side parking instead of day/night for Snow Emergencies, and they sometimes get so much snow that they have to basically implement a permanent snow emergency - the snow banks on the sides of the road are too large to allow parking on both sides of the street.

by Alex B. on Feb 23, 2010 11:38 pm  

Think the success of the Lynchburg train is related to the fact that the scheduled travel time to DC (3:42) is about what it takes to drive (3:36 with no traffic, according to Google)?

by egk on Feb 23, 2010 11:57 pm  

Growing up in Minneapolis myself, I never saw the "permanent snow emergency" that Alex described. I also think the alternate side parking works well.

I'm kinda curious about the Lynchburg extension turning a profit...wish the article went a little deeper into the numbers.

by Froggie on Feb 24, 2010 9:04 am  

Froggie, Minneapolis enacted the permanent alternate-side parking this year. They put it in place on Feb 11 (after that same storm that would eventually get to DC hit them) and had it set to remain in effect until April 1, or the snow melts. Snow lasts a lot longer on the ground up there.

http://www.startribune.com/local/83981017.html

With curbside snow piles turning many city streets into narrow passageways, Minneapolis is banning parking on one side of most residential streets starting Thursday.

That day at 8 a.m., parking will be banned on the even-numbered side of non-snow emergency routes.

The ban will last until April 1, unless conditions allow it to be lifted earlier, the city said Tuesday. The ban begins 12 hours after the current snow emergency ends at 8 p.m. Wednesday.

by Alex B. on Feb 24, 2010 9:31 am  

Froggie,

All the numbers you want are on the Amtrak Virginia page. Under News, then scroll down to publications.

by jim on Feb 24, 2010 9:41 am  

re: putting trash in the street to 'reserve' a parking space.

I don't own a car. However, if I were a driver I would imagine I'd just toss some idiots junk into their yard and park where there was space. I think that if something 'mysterious' happened to someones car then it would only escalate to eventually the original bad actors house being burned down.

Being a jerk (reserving a public space) is only going to lead to escalating retaliation, plus it destroys the good fabric of a neighborhood.

I'm from Michigan and no one ever put junk in the street to keep a public space. It's absolutely ridiculous.

by James on Feb 24, 2010 12:19 pm  

@Erica

Not to mention, there is no legal obligation to shovel out a parking spot.

As a few others have pointed out, there's no obligation whatsoever to shovel out a parking lot. Want to keep your space? Don't move your car. This phenomenon of "saving spaces" is just narcissism.

And as far as "keying the interlopers' car", it seems to me that admitting to being a skulking, petulant dill-whistle doesn't exactly strengthen one's case. You know what we do to people who key our cars? We strip 'em naked, wrap 'em in duct tape, and hang 'em from a lamp post!

Therefore "saving" parking spaces is illegitimate. QED.

by oboe on Feb 26, 2010 2:00 pm