It’s hard enough to get a parking spot downtown or in the South End on a weekend even without lines of idling Diddy-mobiles taking up four spaces at once. It’s about time that the City of Boston feels our pain (or at least stop handing out tickets with rabid ferocity).
Luckily, the Globe has taken note. “When the City of Boston acts on valet parking violations, though it seldom does, the official flogging is most often done with feathers,” reporters lament. (Exhibit A: Petit Robert Bistro was ordered to—gasp—shut off their bar television for a couple of nights after its valets double parked.)
“Valet parkers, the Globe found, pay little heed to the requirement that arriving cars be quickly moved to garages or lots. They routinely ignore regulations that forbid double parking and taking up metered spaces. Some grab resident parking spots and even handicapped parking to squirrel away cars belonging to diners. Such violations make it even more difficult for local residents to negotiate already congested streets and park their cars.”
No kidding. But while this isn’t exactly news to anyone who’s tried to hurtle (or crawl) down Newbury Street at 6 p.m. on a Saturday, there is one exciting development to report: A task force has been assembled (police officers and traffic enforcement officers) to crack down on valets’ fast and loose behavior. It launched last week. Have you noticed a difference? Maybe the city could just build a nice big parking garage someplace convenient? That would solve all our problems!
