Description
There was one of those giant, white city vans (Not sure which department) parked in the "firelane" at 200 Orange area. Behind the empty city van sat a small sedan with a woman inside it. She looked like a regular New Havener. I believe she was talking on her phone, minding her business.
At that point, a recognizable See Click Fix user (A Jane Jacobs, in fact) was walking by. Noticing the woman in the car (and apparently not the huge city van) this SCF user turned around, made eye contact with the citizen in the sedan, and pointed to what looked to be a city sign (which probably indicated that this area is no longer used for parking like it once was).
The SCF user stood there for about 5 seconds, pointing at the sign and making eye contact. A very serious look on her face. No words were exchanged, but the meaning was clear: "Jane Jacobs" wanted this private citizen to MOVE ALONG, and OBEY THE RULES.
So, while I would normally just report "Illegal parking in the firelane in front of 200 Orange/Webster Bank", what was really bothersome was the possible altercation that could have happened between this recognizeable SCF user and a private citizen sitting in her own car on Orange Street.
Is SCF meant to carry on into the daily mindset of the community? Are SCF reporters, in essence, "Deputized" by city departments to be the ears, eyes, and arms of city hall
Why was/is it acceptable to this Jane Jacobs that an 16 foot city van be parked illegally, while a tiny sedan with an actual person in it, be worthy of her firm attention.
Should we all be engaging other members of the public when we witness them doing something wrong? or should we just report it here?
11 Comments
GregL (Registered User)
I think it's fine for citizens to interact with each other. Pointing out to someone that they're illegally parked is much better than posting about it online. Of course, I hope that these interactions are positive, rather than people simply arguing.
Was anyone in the city vehicle? If not, that's probably why the "Jane Jacobs" didn't focus on it. If you know that the person is an active SCF user, wouldn't you assume that they would start a new issue for city vehicles parked there, or comment on an already existing issue?
Anyway, I'm all for people interacting in real life.
ticket (Guest)
juli (Registered User)
hi, "peaceful person",
it seems clear that you know that i am the jane jacobs you are referring to. i stand behind my actions, and though i respect your need for being anonymous in reporting this, i won't remain so.
i would have continued to confront this issue on the seeclickfix that is already open, but, yes i, as you admitted, pointed to a sign showing someone they were illegally parking.
some reasons/thoughts you could consider:
A) my camera battery died, so uploading another photo as it seems you would have preferred was out of the question.
B) dept of traffic and parking has never acknowledged their complicit participation in making streets less safe when their employees park illegally (a very frequent occurrence, as you likely see if you live in new haven).
C) not everyone in the community participates in seeclickfix (or even has access to the internet, or even can read).
D) i've called the dept. of traffic and parking to report this ongoing problem, and the message box is always full.
E) i have mentioned this to meter maids and police officers when they've been in the area in the past. the meter maid laughed in my face, and the police officer told me to stand next to the offending vehicles, call the non-emergency number, and wait for a police officer to show up to report it. i was in a rush to catch a train, and this seemed futile and like a waste of police resources.
F) i believe in a community where we should absolutely interact with one another about the type of community we live in, and what is best for it. communicating about these issues should be done in as many forms as possible.
G) what is wrong with one concerned citizen letting someone know that they are not anonymously breaking a law in this city, that we see them and ask more of them? (sure, within reason- respectfully, as i did, and not putting anyone in harm's way)
here is the open issue: http://seeclickfix.com/issues/167154-habitual-illegal-parking-by-city-employees
and here is some press on the issue: http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/city_tickets_itself/
juli (Registered User)
forgot to clarify:
yes, i was pointing to a bright red "No Parking Anytime" sign. she, and the city vehicle were parked on the striped portion of orange street in front of the dept transportation traffic and parking, where vehicles frequently are illegally parked.
David Streever (Registered User)
Peaceful Person (Guest)
It seems See Click Fix has become an agent of city government .
The Department heads recommend posting to SCF instead of calling them directly!
How convenient!
I am not sure we should be walking or driving around with an overzealous cop mentality.
It is a slippery slope-- and even progressive people with good hearts will fall into the trap!
Also- What if someone was having a bad day and a physical altercation occurred.
Would SCF be held in any way responsible?
We all know that it is the overpopulation that is creating these double parkers.
Overpopulation and Habit. Break their habit, there is still overpopulation.
What to do about that?
David Streever (Registered User)
Peaceful Person:
Overpopulation isn't an issue in this case. New Haven road systems were built to accommodate a much larger city in the 1950s. We've declined in population since, losing almost 50,000 people.
We have parking and driving capacity for projections from the 50s, which assumed that we'd grow for another 30 years, mirroring the last 30 years of growth--many of the original plans by people starting in the 1910s (Olmstead) were updated and implemented in the early 50s. At that time, they would have had census data from 1900-1940 in the mix.
From 1900 to 1940, New Haven gained about 60,000 people--60% of the total population in 1900! All projections would have been done with similar assumptions around growth, and many of the projects were expected to carry us through to the 80s--so they would have been assuming growth as high as 200,000 people or more.
Of course, when they expanded the highway capacity, street capacity, and parking capacity--while simultaneously eliminating mass transit (much as they are doing now), they achieved the opposite, and started shipping our population out.
The population of New Haven has fallen since the '50s, but we still have roadways and parking designed for a city of 200,000 residents.
Unfortunately, modern urban planning in this city has internalized the suburban workforce as a primary audience, and continues to plan parking, roadways, highways, and other transportation initiatives around non-residents. It should go without saying that acknowledging this poor planning doesn't mean one is against out-of-towners: however, ideally, a town/city plans with the residents of that town/city first in mind.
Apologies for the long-winded reply. I suspect it isn't particularly relevant to your real issue, but I do want to address your genuine concern about overpopulation in New Haven. We aren't there yet--I look forward to seeing New Haven have that as an issue which needs correction.
BB (Registered User)
Thanks,
Ben
Peaceful Person (Guest)
Streever, the issue is worldwide, not just New Haven.
So let's be careful with "turning in" our neighbors to authorities.
Also- Had Juli been injured in the confrontation, would it have all been worth it?
Juli, thanks for linking the other thread... this leads me to believe
that you should continue to focus your efforts on the people that work for us in city government... not on private citizens. The woman did not deserve the angry glare. Let her freedom ring, please. There was no harm being done.
Ben, I wasn't sure about the help/questions section. Thanks for sharing! If you feel you would like to move it, please go ahead.
Acknowledged City of New Haven (Registered User)
Closed Manager of Operations, Process Improvement - Transportation, Traffic, & Parking (Verified Official)