No Civility in Parking

Wakefield Area News

By Mary V. Lauro

BRONX, NEW YORK, August 27- Alien space ships hovering over the City may well conclude that life on earth is in the form of four wheeled metallic bodies that are sometimes invaded by walking parasites. The parasites so annoy the metallic bodies that they scoot away until they get rid of the parasites at another location. The aliens would not be far wrong. Indeed there seem to be as many cars as are humans.

This may be fact and not fancy especially at night when one is trying to find a parking space. The streets are tightly packed with cars except for the occasional driveway which has been overlooked by civility-deprived individuals. Today's so-called citizens have no respect for rules, laws or regulations. They know that to have one's car towed for parking at a driveway is a rare occurrence. So what if the homeowner in front of whose driveway he is parked has to get to work or has an emergency? He can always take a cab. One wonders whether the blame can be placed on the incivility of the perpetrator or the inefficiency of the police. Even so, ticketing these individuals will not solve the parking situation.

It is during the daylight hours that one confronts the parking problem. We have often noted that many families have a car for each member of the family. When houses were built in the past, and even today, the assumption was and is one or two cars for each family. No single family house in an urban setting has room for a six car garage. So, two cars are placed in the garage and four are parked in the street. That, of course depends on whether the two-car garage has not been converted into storage space or an illegal apartment. (There are blocks and blocks in Wakefield and CB 12 where garages have been converted into illegal apartments enriching their owners.) So now it is all six cars parked in the street.

But that is only the beginning. When dad goes to work, his son moves his own car in such a manner as to take two spaces so that when dad returns, he can move the car to make room for dad. This ploy is used by friends and relatives. Some groups can use six cars to occupy half a block. One observes the same cars in the same spots day after day.

Nor can we omit the innocent but sloppy parkers who leave too much space between their car and another parked car, or who haven't the good sense to park their car as close to the proximate driveway so that another car can park behind them. Essentially, these drivers also are taking two spaces.

We note that many drivers don't give a fig about parking in front of a hydrant. They gamble that the police will not see the hydrant. They also know that a patrol car rarely stops to issue a summons for such an occurrence. But, there is one place these civility-deprived drivers will not park and that is at a cross walk because it can easily be spotted and the fine is $100.

We have already offered two ideas to help the parking situation. One is to permit more angle parking especially at night. This would not make money for the City nor cost drivers at all. Another is to issue one free parking permit to each family, but place a charge for parking permits for a second or third car.

Now we offer another money making idea to our cash strapped city. Mark parking spaces on each block so many feet apart. Cars must park within those spaces or face steep fines. It may not solve the problem, but it would help.