Alternate side parking
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alternate side parking is a traffic law that dictates on which side of a street cars can be parallel parked on a given day. The law is intended to ensure the most efficient flow of traffic, as well as allowing street sweepers and snowplows to reach the curb without parked cars impeding their progress. Some proponents also regard the law, which can be quite inconvenient for drivers, as a way to encourage the use of public transportation.[1]
In many towns and cities, alternate side parking is reserved for certain times of year.[2][3] In other places, such as New York City, it is a year-round rule suspended only for holidays and certain events.[4] Signs are posted with the scheduled street sweeping times, and motorists must make sure their vehicles are on the correct side of the street or risk being ticketed or towed. The law can be confusing to visitors, who often choose to park in high-priced parking garages or use valet parking rather than risking fines. Even for locals, parking tickets are common; working late or oversleeping may cause a car to be left for too long on the wrong side of the street. Avoiding a ticket can consume a great deal of time, as drivers must search for other available spaces or sit double parked while they wait for the street sweepers to pass.[5]
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In Sweden, alternate side parking (datumparkering) is applied in zones covering an entire city, with signs indicating this at the city perimeter. Inside such date zones (datumzon), parking is prohibited on the morning of odd dates on the side of the street where houses have odd numbers. Inspired by Stockholm, more and more Swedish cities are abandoning such confusing zones and instead provide permanent parking on one or both sides of the street, with the exception for one day per week during December thru May, when snowplowing and sweeping of sand can be required. The day when parking is prohibited is posted on a sign for each street.
In Denmark (datoparkering), the rules are exactly the opposite of those in Sweden, with parking prohibited on the morning of odd dates on the side of the street where houses have even numbers.
[edit] Example
On a street running East to West, cars must be moved from the South side of the street for a few hours a day every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. On Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday they must be moved from the North side. On Sunday and certain holidays, they can be left where they are. The specific times will vary from street to street. The days on which the rules are suspended may also vary from city to city and even from neighborhood to neighborhood.
[edit] In popular culture
- In the Seinfeld episode "The Alternate Side," George Costanza gets a job moving cars from one side of the street to the other.
- The novel Tepper Isn't Going Out is based on the quest for parking in New York City.[6]
[edit] References
- ^ Gail Robinson. Parking. Gotham Gazette. Retrieved on October 16, 2006.
- ^ Parking. Madison Wisconsin Isthmus. Retrieved on October 16, 2006.
- ^ Frank Pomeroy. Community Connection Alternate-Side Parking. Retrieved on October 16, 2006.
- ^ New York City Department of Transportation. Alternate Side Parking Regulations Suspension Calendar. Retrieved on October 16, 2006.
- ^ David Wallis. The Zen of Alternate-Side Parking. Retrieved on October 16, 2006.
- ^ Calvin Trillin (2003). Tepper Isn't Going Out. Random House. ISBN 0-375-75851-8.
