Street Parking Enforcement

If you own a car and live at 24 Norman Street you may have noticed that parking enforcement on Norman and Holyoke streets has become more stringent in recent weeks. The sight of tickets stuck on the windshields of an entire line of cars is now becoming more frequent. Many of these are on the cars of non-Salem residents, but I have seen plenty on cars with Norman Street parking tags as well. After having received only one ticket in the entire 31/2 years that we have lived here, we have suddenly been "blessed" with 3 in one month. There was a time that you could park your car on Holyoke or Norman street and feel relatively secure that you would not get a ticket as long as your parking tag was visible.

This no longer seems to be the case. Salem also seem to be ticketing on Saturdays during the day. Although parking tickets are usually only an issue during the hours of 8am to 6pm, Monday-Friday, uneven enforcement and the general murkiness of our parking agreement with the City of Salem has made that less certain. It might be prudent to be extra cautious, especially as we draw closer to October and the usual Halloween press of tourists. Parking seems to be a perennial issue in Salem, and problematic for Norman Street residents in particular.

The opening of several new restaurants near us, the imminent opening of the new courthouse, the start of construction of a new garage at the MBTA station, and the hiring of outside "parking consultants" by the city, promise to make this an issue that will get worse over the next few years. Since parking tickets generate revenue for the city, there isn't a lot of incentive for them to play nice.

Remember that the plastic parking tags Norman Street residents are issued, that we pay for in our condo fees, are only good for the Riley Plaza lot across from the post office. That is the only area we are "officially" allowed to park without fear of ticketing (at least we have some legal recourse if we are ticketed there).

With on-street parking hard to find, you might be tempted to risk long-term parking in the dumpster-side lot of the building, but that's not recommended either as your vehicle will eventually get towed. Better a $15 dollar ticket than a $100+ towing fee.

In general, just be aware that ticketing is on the rise. Be careful out there!