Narrow streets call for parking enforcementDate: 3/6/2015 So how is your street faring this winter? While the main roads in a community usually get a lot of attention from plow crews it is the side streets that often suffer.
And, of course, that is where we all live.
My little street has been affected from both people either ignoring the parking ban or observing it. The problem is coordinating the moving of cars when the plows are coming so they can get both sides of the street.
Some people make an effort while others have not, which has affected how the street looks.
The trouble is my street and many others in the neighborhood is they were designed in 19th Century. They are narrow. They are also the home to apartment buildings that have no off-street parking.
Add those conditions with near record snowfall and you have a mess.
Since people park on both sides of the streets – which is prohibited – our street can become barely passable.
On Sunday afternoon my wife and I noticed that two drivers had parked their cars opposite each other, which effectively blocked the street. When it was clear that cars couldn’t get past them and the drivers weren’t coming back any time soon, I called the police.
The police responded and ticketed the illegally parked cars along the street. The driver who had parked illegally in front of our house eventually left, but came back after a bit. He parked in the same illegal spot and carefully put the citation back under his wiper so he wouldn’t get another one.
I liked how he refused to acknowledge that he was doing something wrong and repeated his illegal action.
There is such an effort to enforce parking rules downtown, so why not extend it to the neighborhoods where there are problems? I’m not asking for the police to write the tickets, but rather have a similar enforcement service as the one downtown going into residential areas.
I know some people would disagree with this approach, but if you live on a narrow street, it is imperative to keep the street open to travelers and emergency vehicles.
Electric bill shocking you?
Here is another question for you: Has your electric bill increased dramatically this winter? I’m sure it has because you might be using space heaters more to keep your house warmer in these sub-zero temperatures we’ve been facing, but if you’re a customer of Western Massachusetts Electric Company (WMECO) the hike is more than just a winter adjustment.
Last fall, the state approved an increase for the utility that translates to about a 29 percent for its customers. Prior to his talk in Springfield last week, Gov. Charlie Baker attributed at least part of the increase due to the fact there are not adequate natural gas pipelines in the state to bring the preferred fuel needed by WMECO. He pledged to work on trying to increase this capacity so the state’s electricity is not generated by more expensive fuels in the future.
The irony of all this is that according to a statement released by Eversource, the new name for WMECO’s parent company, it had “full-year earning of $819.5 million or $2.58 per share, compared with full-year 2013 earnings of $786 million or $2.49 per share.”
Nice. The company is doing okay; maybe better than okay. So why did it need a 29 percent increase? I understand the need for an increase to maintain and improve the electrical infrastructure. I understand if they want to build improvements for the future, but was this much of an increase really needed at this time?
Agree? Disagree? Drop me a line at news@thereminder.com or at 280 N. Main St., East Longmeadow, MA 01028. As always, this column represents the opinion of its author and not the publishers or advertisers of this newspaper.
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