Straight From the Streets Report #8 (Massachusetts Editon)

I was in Massachusetts for the five days after Thanksgiving and I had my reporter’s pad out to record some material.

1. In Boston, you are four times more likely to get a parking ticket than to get a speeding ticket. So, obey the parking signs. If it says "resident only parking" and you are not a resident of that neighborhood, DO NOT park there. The Boston Transportation Authority doesn’t take breaks for weekends, holidays or inclement weather. Apparently, the parking situation was extremely tight on Saturday night and this young woman was willing to risk a ticket to park her car. I thought she was stupid but I had to save her some money. She was trying to squeeze into a spot on the legal side of the street but she was going to be only three feet from a fire hydrant (ticket price $100). As I am walking towards Lansdowne Street with my boy, I stopped and tapped on her window. I told her “if you are going to be that bold and risk a ticket you might as well park on the resident only side and get a $40 ticket than block a hydrant and get a $100 fine.” She agreed and moved her car across the street.

2. Someone was riding around Boston on Saturday in a Chevy Caprice Classic with New York plates that said “DEATHROW.” The car windows were tinted so I couldn't confirm the identity of the driver or the passengers. Maybe Tupac is still alive?


3. The Big Dig, the most expensive highway project in the history of the United States is still not finished. The Boston Highway project was started in 1991 and was supposed to be completed in 2000. Five years later and well over its original budget, the roads around the heart of downtown Boston are a car owner’s nightmare. I don’t even know what the ETC (the estimated time of completion) is anymore.

That’s the report from the Bay State (Massachusetts’ nickname) this post-Thanksgiving weekend. Please check back in a week or so for the next straight from the streets report.