It’s not a Cambridge specific thing. That’s to tell fire fighters the structure is unoccupied, gutted and currently unsafe to enter.

This is the answer. Parking meters are not for all-day parking, and OP is abusing them. OP even admits that getting repeatedly fined for their behavior is cheaper than paying for legitimate parking and still complains that the fines are too high.

I see you don’t work in Kendall if you think $200/mo will get you a garage 🙃

In all seriousness, OP, you should probably take the advice to park in a public garage farther out and take the T the rest of the way. u/commentsOnPizza is right that metered parking spots are not for commuting in for work.

Email city council. Please. If they’re going to be this absurd about enforcement, then they at least need to fix the appeals process. Most people can’t afford the time to deal with the endless appeals either.

When are they going to start ticketing everyone who parks illegally in the bike lanes? Especially Harvard square, that is an absolute nightmare to bike through every day. It's ridiculous that you can be in a legitimate spot one minute over and get tickets mailed to you, but bike lane parkers for 5 minutes get away with it.

Highly, highly recommended. The headstock somehow snapped off my acoustic guitar and he somehow repaired it, good as new. It was like magic.

This actually sounds like they didn't ticket much last year. $800 over the course of a year is 32 or fewer parking tickets, yes? So that's less than once a week. If you're parking at a meter every day from 8am to 4pm, you should probably be getting multiple tickets per day. Even if you refill a meter and even if you move the car and pay a new meter within the same zone, you're still parked illegally.

I'm actually kinda shocked that it was only $800 in tickets if you're parking in metered spots every day.

I'd probably talk to my work about the parking situation. Maybe they can pay for a garage for you or increase your salary so that you can afford it.

I definitely understand hating a $67/mo expense. I think the problem is that if there's an easy way to get around parking enforcement, then everyone would start using the parking in that way and there'd be no parking for anyone. Businesses in the area don't want you taking parking that people visiting their establishments could be using. They'd rather 5-10 people use that metered spot shopping than you as one person using that spot for the whole day.

I'm also curious about the cost. Cambridge's meters are $1.25/hour so 8 hours would end up being $10. Assuming you work a standard work week, that's $200/mo for the meter + $67/mo in tickets. It seems like you could probably find a garage for nearly what you're paying.

There's one in Somerville that might be a nearish option: Stubblebine Lutherie https://maps.app.goo.gl/S93N8ZH5U1ZYZVnc6

Cambridge takes in $5.5M in Parking & Traffic fines and spends $10.2M on parking management (https://budget.data.cambridgema.gov/#!/year/default). A lot of people think that cities rake in cash from parking tickets, but parking enforcement really doesn't pay for itself. The reason cities do it is because the alternative can be more problematic. Imagine the cries from residents complaining that out-of-town people are taking up all the parking on their street. Imagine the cries from businesses complaining that a few residents are taking up the metered spots in front of their shop so no one can get to their shop (ignoring the fact that most customers in Cambridge wouldn't be coming by car anyway).

Everyone hates aggressive enforcement, but they also hate parking being unavailable.

Wow, I called them and they said it might be a month before they sell them again. Maybe they sold them like crazy for Chinese New Year, need to build up their stock again, within their scheme of priorities.

I mean I returned to my car before my meter ran out and a meter maid was staring at the meter waiting for it to run out. It’s one thing if the time is up, but just staring at one car waiting for time to count down is unreasonable. (Said as someone who bikes, uses the T, and drives. Depends on where I’m going and what the weather says. 🥲)

I dont drive as much as I used to, but when I drive into areas where legal parking is hard or even broken, I put an old ticket on my windshield. Oftentimes meter maids or cops will just look past your car. Worked several times in the North End where parking is shit.

jaded Gen Xers and Boomers on Boston area subreddits are always giving shit to people who complain about inefficient programs, basically just because theyve always been there, they work fine, follow the rules, etc etc

~~Bring it to David Golber. ~~~~

I retract this recommendation

Not sure why other posters are giving you such a hard time, the process is a joke.

I had 2 late last year where there were 3 spots. At the front, it said “no parking, tool truck, 1 spot”. I parked in the middle, behind a tool truck. They’re saying that since there wasn’t an end sign, it counts as a place I shouldn’t have parked.

I had even called the parking office when it happened and they confirmed it was allocated as just one spot, but since their cones get stolen they don’t always put out an “end” sign.

I’ve appealed with photos (denied) and did a hearing yesterday where they told me I had to appeal again (the hell was the point of the hearing then?)

I’m debating between writing it off, or emailing city council suggesting they reinstate using cones, since the parking officials seem to be falsely ticketing without them

But the logic is pretty magical!

You become the victim for breaking the law.

>These meter maids are useless

Yeah, we should defund them so people could leave their cars for free on the streets forever!

That would solve this problem!

Park at Alewife and T into MIT.

I've had the same experience! Got a ticket at 1 minute over the limit on a meter I paid WHILE I WAS IN THE CAR. I drove away without even knowing I had gotten a ticket until they mailed it to me. Appealed it and was denied, and at the trial I pointed out that how is it possible they were not targeting me when it was literally a minute difference from my parking receipt, and was told by the judge that it was a lucky coincidence since the maids didn't have any way to know when my parking expires. I call bullshit.

Oh, yeah, those are pretty good from my recollection. I'll mention them. I doubt they have tried them, since they're only visiting.

Johnson String in Newton

It's really dependent on your neighborhood. My neighbor has been parking without a permit going on 5 years now. In all that time he's only gotten 2 tickets. He can't get a permit because it's a company-owned car.

Have they actually tried them? I would argue spaghetti factory frozen dumplings are better than the frozen dumplings at maybe local restaurants.

As with most motorists that is not the answer they want. They want to hear how they can keep breaking the rules without having to pay for it

Cambridge parking enforcement is the best run department in the city of Cambridge. A model for all the others

Treat the tickets as a cost of driving in cambridge. Bikes or escooters are also quite effective