Fighting The Man
May. 24th, 2006 09:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
raxThis incensed me so much that I made a _LiveJournal Post._
I'd put in a cut tag, but I can't find the help from w3m.
Oh wait there it is.
I am a technical writer living in Somerville who commutes daily to
Cambridge by bicycle. For just shy of a year, my place of work has been
on the fourth floor of the 350 Massachusetts Avenue building, managed by
Forest City Management. For that entire year, except during significant
inclement weather, I have parked my bicycle against a street sign post
in front of the building, as have others. Starting this Monday, Forest
City Security has started leaving "Parking Violation" notices on bikes,
threatening to cut the locks if the bikes are not moved to their approved
parking garage, which is about three blocks away from my office.
I spoke to Rosalie Anders, the Project Coordinator for Bicycle and
Pedestrian Programs for the city of Cambridge, who said that the
sidewalk, that on Sidney Street between Mass Ave and Green Street, was
legal for bicycle parking. She verified this with someone familiar with
their mutual easement agreement, which I have not seen. I then called
the number on the parking ticket and spoke to someone who identified
himself as "Gene," who said that he had been told to cut off the locks
of bicycles parked there, and gave me the number of his supervisor. I
called the supervisor, who wouldn't give me his name, but gave me the
phone number for Jeff Sandstrom, the head of security for Forest City,
who told me the following things:
* He didn't believe that the signpost belonged to the city
* The tenant agreement for companies in the building supposedly requires
that all bicycles be parked in their garage
* He didn't want University Park to turn into a "bicycle parking lot"
I told him that I believed, after talking to the City of Cambridge, that
it was legal to park bikes there, and that he couldn't tell me which
public places to park my bike in any more than he could tell me which
public places to park my car in, and that I would seek legal counsel if
he cut the lock off of my bike. He said that he would cut the lock off
of my bike.
I then called Rosalie back, and she was like "That's not right. I'll
talk to him." She talked to him, and convinced him he didn't have any
right to cut off bikes from there, and suggested that I seek legal
redress if they take my bike, since it would be theft. I am parking
my bike there tomorrow. I'm hoping there is no further fallout from this
but we will see.
She also added me to the Cambridge Bicycle Committee mailing list and
I am now excited to get involved in local bicycle advocacy. In my...
COPIOUS FREE TIME! Right.
Oh and for the record, bikes are explicitly allowed to park on signposts
in Cambridge: http://www.cambridgema.gov/~CDD/et/bike/bike_reg.html#nine
BUY THIS CAR TO DRIVE TO WORK
DRIVE TO WORK TO PAY FOR THIS CAR
See you again in months,
-r.
I'd put in a cut tag, but I can't find the help from w3m.
Oh wait there it is.
I am a technical writer living in Somerville who commutes daily to
Cambridge by bicycle. For just shy of a year, my place of work has been
on the fourth floor of the 350 Massachusetts Avenue building, managed by
Forest City Management. For that entire year, except during significant
inclement weather, I have parked my bicycle against a street sign post
in front of the building, as have others. Starting this Monday, Forest
City Security has started leaving "Parking Violation" notices on bikes,
threatening to cut the locks if the bikes are not moved to their approved
parking garage, which is about three blocks away from my office.
I spoke to Rosalie Anders, the Project Coordinator for Bicycle and
Pedestrian Programs for the city of Cambridge, who said that the
sidewalk, that on Sidney Street between Mass Ave and Green Street, was
legal for bicycle parking. She verified this with someone familiar with
their mutual easement agreement, which I have not seen. I then called
the number on the parking ticket and spoke to someone who identified
himself as "Gene," who said that he had been told to cut off the locks
of bicycles parked there, and gave me the number of his supervisor. I
called the supervisor, who wouldn't give me his name, but gave me the
phone number for Jeff Sandstrom, the head of security for Forest City,
who told me the following things:
* He didn't believe that the signpost belonged to the city
* The tenant agreement for companies in the building supposedly requires
that all bicycles be parked in their garage
* He didn't want University Park to turn into a "bicycle parking lot"
I told him that I believed, after talking to the City of Cambridge, that
it was legal to park bikes there, and that he couldn't tell me which
public places to park my bike in any more than he could tell me which
public places to park my car in, and that I would seek legal counsel if
he cut the lock off of my bike. He said that he would cut the lock off
of my bike.
I then called Rosalie back, and she was like "That's not right. I'll
talk to him." She talked to him, and convinced him he didn't have any
right to cut off bikes from there, and suggested that I seek legal
redress if they take my bike, since it would be theft. I am parking
my bike there tomorrow. I'm hoping there is no further fallout from this
but we will see.
She also added me to the Cambridge Bicycle Committee mailing list and
I am now excited to get involved in local bicycle advocacy. In my...
COPIOUS FREE TIME! Right.
Oh and for the record, bikes are explicitly allowed to park on signposts
in Cambridge: http://www.cambridgema.gov/~CDD/et/bike/bike_reg.html#nine
BUY THIS CAR TO DRIVE TO WORK
DRIVE TO WORK TO PAY FOR THIS CAR
See you again in months,
-r.