Ask a friend to carsit:
“Here’s a solution that doesn’t involve tickets or disrupting street cleaning -- ask a friend or neighbor to car-sit. We don’t have a car and have done this multiple times for friends. We switch the car from side to side, go to Fairway, day trips, etc. The car owners don’t have to worry about parking, tickets, etc. It’s win-win.”
“We are doing exactly that right now. Babysitting a friend's car for a couple of weeks. Since it was over the holiday, we have saved a lot of money on zipcar. Win/win. Only thing is, I don't know how you street parking car owners put up with the opposite side drama week after week. What a PITA!”
Hire someone:
“Why not pay a local college student to move it twice for you?”
Park at the airport:
For airport parking advice, go here.
Park at an overnight garage:
For PSP member recommended garages, go here.
Leave it in a neighborhood where there is no alternative street parking:
“My husband parks on Bragg Street near Avenue V -- which has no alternate side and then takes a car service from there to get to the airport…”
Be aware that leaving just leaving your car in its spot risks getting towed, it is unneighborly, unsanitary, and unsafe:
“Definitely don't leave it on the street because it might get towed, which costs a lot more than $35 to retrieve!”
“Please be a good neighbor and move your car on posted alternate side days. This is the only way for city workers to do their job: street sweeping. When neighbors start treating alternate side violation fees as a viable alternative to paying for parking, the entire cleaning system breaks down. Especially on narrow streets and streets with bike lanes, one unmoved car can completely block sweeper passage. Car owners who ignore ASP for their personal convenience affect everyone else. We all have to live with the consequences: streets filthy with tree debris, garbage, and all manner of disgusting unmentionables. Rules like alternate side parking are for the common good. Please help keep our city functional for everyone.”
“The street sweepers have vacuums and vacuum up debris; both street sweeping and garbage pickup are tremendously important public and environmental health measures and our sanitation workers are just as much heroes as the police and firefighters, so obey parking rules and put them on your holiday gift list. Some of the diseases prevented are tapeworm, tuberculosis, salmonella, cholera, toxoplasmosis, and a variety of nasty fungal diseases.Oh and polio! And many more. Plus lead mercury etc from discarded gadgets. Plus injuries from metal and glass shards, etc etc.”
“The only problem is if you park on the street, the street will not be swept. That is not good. The street sweeper makes a wide turn around parked cars and the streets are not cleaned. It is really annoying for the residents of a block where people often leave their cars. The city used to put a large, very sticky and hard to remove notice on cars that are parked illegally for street cleaning. Perhaps we should request that they do that again to discourage scofflaws. I am planning to discuss this with our representative from Community Board Six, because leaving cars for a week or two is becoming an annoying nuisance. There are several garages in the neighborhood where you can leave your car for a week or two and allow the city street sweepers to do their job.”
Finally,
With all the talk of moving cars and friends car-sitting, REMEMBER—if you block someone in and your friend-sitting, please put YOUR contact number so you can move if necessary! Happy Parking!
image credit: https://flic.kr/p/rXz12
