[Summit] Overnight parking (was Re: SNA Meeting addressing area crime, Crime Watch, & Overnight Parking)

[Nathaniel W. Turner]

Hi Dean,

On 08/24/2014 02:40 PM, Dean W wrote:
> I do believe that the Overnight Parking program does make it easier to 
> commit crime in the neighborhood and make it more difficult to 
> recognize crime in progress.  Everyone should know that this program 
> is currently in a phase of being an "indefinite pilot program".  It 
> has NOT been passed by City Council, and it is a pet program of Mayor 
> Taveras, existing because of his Executive Order.  I say this not as a 
> representative of SNA, but as a resident who deeply disagrees with the 
> Overnight Parking program and how it has come to be implemented in 
> Providence.  Crime is just one element of why this is a bad program 
> for Providence's future, but since we are on that topic, I mention it.

As a fellow resident (who has been a victim of theft, and otherwise 
isn't a fan of such shenanigans), I'm curious about the claim that 
overnight parking makes it "more difficult to recognize crime in 
progress". This doesn't jibe with my personal observations:

 1.

    Overnight parking bans don't prevent your law-abiding friends and
    neighbors from parking on the street during the day or evening. You
    know, for when a friend comes over for dinner, or you have a bunch
    of snowboarding gear you want to move in or out of your front closet.

 2.

    After living in a place for awhile, it becomes obvious which
    vehicles are regularly parked on your block. A new vehicle does
    stand out.

 3.

    It's easy to tell if a parked car belongs to a resident or not ---
    just look at the upper left corner of the rear window for a resident
    parking sticker. (I suppose this could be faked, but I don't think
    we're talking about that level of sophistication here.)

Not interested in starting a flame war (though those can be fun). Just 
curious about what I'm missing.

nate

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