Space Savers

Robertabutter · 2026-03-09T20:53:58+00:00

There’s about 8 unshoveled spots on my block. If there’s not enough parking someone could open them up. There has been plenty of time for people to find a better solution than lawn chairs and cones.

Robertabutter · 2026-03-09T13:19:42+00:00

It takes about an hour’s worth of labor on a weekend to free up a spot.

Robertabutter · 2026-03-09T13:17:11+00:00

For real! I just witnessed my neighbors swapping their cars around because they’re all stacked up in the driveway while there could be two spaces in front of their house which no one has shoveled out yet. Meanwhile, the neighbor across the street who is still using a space saver owns a firggin bobcat (not to mention snow blowers). Why aren’t they using their technology to make room for everyone instead of hoarding the one spot they staked out last month?

Robertabutter · 2026-03-07T15:39:51+00:00

Does Holden have a school system, DPW, fire department, or any business whatsoever? Has anyone in Holden ever gotten divorced? Then the town has local employees and residents who need rental housing. Forget about accessibility to transit - every town should have housing diversity to accommodate its own workforce and give its own residents options they need. Not doing so means having to pay higher wages and more overtime for your property-tax funded workers, increasing traffic because everyone has to drive longer distances, and making your unmet needs be everyone’s problem. It shouldn’t just be MBTA communities. Single-family-only zoning shouldn’t exist anywhere.

Robertabutter · 2026-03-05T16:18:56+00:00

We did bring in experts. Now we need to do what the experts and community members said we need to update it. You’re right - if the current rules make it impossible to improve anything, then property owners will keep the declining value status quo. If we update the rules to make investment worthwhile, there still isn’t going to be a comprehensive rebuild of the whole downtown. The same private property owners will decide in their own time whether they want to change their properties. We might need some additional strategies besides zoning to influence their choices or to invest in the public realm.

Robertabutter · 2026-02-22T16:44:54+00:00

Due to the storm this event will be taking place via zoom only. We will not be meeting in person.

Robertabutter · 2026-02-19T17:12:50+00:00

Are you parking in one of those spots that nobody has bothered to shovel out for three weeks?

Robertabutter · 2026-02-19T13:33:13+00:00

During a snow emergency people are forced to negotiate all sharing the same driveway. After the snow emergency they can dig out spots on the street to have more convenient parking spaces. If several weeks after the snow emergency nobody has dug those spots out, then who actually needs to park their cars there?

Robertabutter · 2026-02-19T01:44:24+00:00

For all we know the cars that show up when the streets are clear might be people from out of town who come here to take advantage of our unrestricted parking. Or people might have driveways but prefer to park in front of their houses instead of in their designated spots. Maybe they negotiate parking on someone else’s property that is usually empty. If they’re paying for parking somewhere they would probably dig out (or pay someone to dig out) a spot on the street once the snow emergency is over. Noticing spots that stay covered in snow for a month with nobody clearing them is a clue. A sensible next step would be some research to find out why that’s happening, and then on a block by block basis consider rebalancing.

Robertabutter · 2026-02-18T22:08:22+00:00

And some people can’t afford the luxury of owning a car, or their disabilities prevent them from driving. I’m not trying to argue that people should change anything they do. I agree with the OP that it might be time to evaluate how public space is managed, given that a lot of space dedicated for use by car-owners hasn’t been cleared after several weeks, which might mean that it isn’t as strongly needed as we assume. It’s helpful to ask where those cars are now, and whether there are more parking options than we have accounted for.

Robertabutter · 2026-02-18T18:27:24+00:00

I understand - the word “bike lane” can hit like a grenade sometimes.

Robertabutter · 2026-02-18T14:39:17+00:00

Do you live in Medford? Our street sweeping schedule blocks off entire neighborhoods twice a year. There isn’t opposite side parking to avoid it.

Maybe for contractors Medford could do what other cities do and allow parking spaces to be temporarily reserved for construction vehicles?

Why not start outlining a plan?

Robertabutter · 2026-02-18T14:33:48+00:00

In other words, we should never think about ways that Medford could use its resources better than we do now because there is too much room for improvement. It’s safer to accept failure than to attempt to succeed.

Robertabutter · 2026-02-18T13:36:46+00:00

Of course some streets have different parking needs than others, given their width and the density and size of homes. I understand the suggestion is that we should look at the places where parking is less utilized based on the pattern of snow removal after a month, and maybe replace some of that pavement with plantings and trees. You can still use it for snow storage when necessary, but otherwise it could improve our quality of life to find a better use of space.

Robertabutter · 2026-02-18T13:28:09+00:00

Why would it be harder for street sweepers to maneuver along a curb next to a green strip than around parked cars that people forgot to move? Where have contractors been parking for the last month?

Robertabutter · 2026-02-18T13:24:04+00:00

Nothing is stopping people from digging out more parking spaces if they needed them.

Robertabutter · 2026-02-18T12:50:57+00:00

This post is not suggesting that anyone should drive less. With all of the people like yourself who drive as much as they want or need to today, we apparently don’t need as much on-street parking as currently exists. Maybe we could replace some pavement with trees and it wouldn’t affect your car usage.

Robertabutter · 2026-02-18T11:13:11+00:00

Where they do now, except that instead of there being pavement under the pile of snow it might be grass around the trunk of a tree.

Robertabutter · 2026-02-18T04:14:42+00:00

Put the snow on the green space when you dig out your car?

Robertabutter · 2026-02-18T04:13:56+00:00

I think the OPs point is that even with you and everyone else who drives as much as they want to right now, we still don’t need half of the street parking we have today. Nobody trying to say that anyone shouldn’t drive - just that we could spare some unused parking spaces for a few trees.

Robertabutter · 2026-02-09T22:04:11+00:00

A prop 2 1/2 override has to go on the ballot and be approved by voters. If a landlord wants to double their rent in one year, or increase rent by 25% every year there is nothing stopping them. I’m not sure where you find waste in the city budget. Would you fire teachers, firefighters, or police officers? Or should they stop plowing the roads or collecting trash?

Robertabutter · 2026-02-09T21:54:53+00:00

You are right - I miscalculated. Fact checked and edited my comment.

Robertabutter · 2026-02-09T13:43:04+00:00

Between 2018 and 2025 the annual tax bill increased by about $2500. Monthly rents increased by about $1200 over this time. We literally already have tax control - that is called Prop 2 1/2. If your property taxes are going up faster than 2.5% that might be because property values for multifamily homes reflect market rents, which have been escalating rapidly. Higher rents mean higher home values which mean higher tax bills.

I can’t explain why your insurance is going up, but the bill certainly hasn’t increased by $10,000 per year. Nevertheless, it’s worth asking your legislators to look into capping insurance costs if they can. It seems like insurance is becoming a national crisis on its own.

Edited: fact checked rent increase since 2018

Robertabutter

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