By Washington Washington
Wasn’t all of that snow great? Yea… It was. Even the shoveling that came with it was a breeze, if you got to it early enough. I began shoveling at 1pm on Saturday, just after the snow stopped falling. It was light and fluffy, not too much trouble at all.
Aside from clearing off my walkways, porch, and steps, I also dug out the car I had parked on the street. This was a bit more of a hassle because the space between the tire and the curb was kinda difficult to access with the shovel, but still it wasn’t a big deal. I shoveled the few feet of snow that were in front of the car, and same deal in the back.
Later Saturday afternoon / early evening, I walked down to Bridge and saw many instances of “parking spot marking” with fold out chairs. I hate this practice… always have. It’s a town-wide epidemic that must stop. In some cities, such as Washington DC, if you get caught marking a parking space you could be slapped with a fine. Does this exist in Phoenixville? If not, it should.
Just because someone clears a parking spot does not mean that person owns the space and has the right to reserve it. This was clearly evident when I glanced out at the parking spot I had cleared only to discover someone else had put a chair there!
So this individual just decided that they would claim the spot I cleared for their own… Was it because I didn’t put a chair there? I don’t know what goes through someone’s head when they are doing that, and I don’t want to know. I don’t want to play the game. I will, however, kick over any chairs that get in my way.
Bottom line, the street is a public place and no portion of it should be reserved for any one indivdual (with the exception of the handicapped).
I’d really like to hear what other people think about this, so please leave comments.
Washington,
I agree with your sentiment, but I’ll admit that I’m a chair user only because I’m book-ended by two neighbors who cannot parallel park worth a damn and who aren’t considerate of their other neighbors. My neighbors HAVE to park directly in front of their house (or as close to it as possible), often times leaving me without a space because of their poor parallel parking ability(and I have one of the smallest cars on the block). Hence, why should I break my back clearing out spots (I often shovel more than just the two cars we own) so those jag-offs can slide right in and take up three spots between the two of them. I believe borough code says you can’t put stuff out, but if the borough did a more efficient job plowing, then this would not be an issue. Also, the borough should do a better job ensuring that people clear their sidewalks after snowstorms. Walking around this town can be treacherous.
I am pleased to report that code enforcement just came around and removed all the chairs.
Let the fighting begin.
I just received this email:
I read your posting about people trying to claim spots by putting chairs and other items in the street. It is illegal to do so.
That’s why codes removed the chairs. With another storm coming, feel free to contact the Borough if you see people putting items out. They should remove it again and if possible, issue a citation.
For a list of ordinances, visit
http://www.e-codes.generalcode.com/globalsearch.asp
You can search for topics.
-Mike Handwerk, Phoenixville Borough Councilman
I have to park in the lot on Prospect and people will put chairs in cleaned out spots there. That absolutely kills me. If it’s in front of your house that’s one thing, but seriously? A public lot?