IMPORTANT MEETING THIS THURSDAY

The Parking Board is going to discuss parking in The Holyoke Square area on Thursday night. (See the attached agenda below). The last ten months have proven that The Bus Parking there is not working. There have been approximately 6000 hours of possible bus parking and buses have only parked there for about 10 to 20 hours. During this time there have been approximately 20,000 hours that cars could have parked there (7 cars times 10 hours a day for 10 months).  The bus spaces on Holyoke Square have remained empty for 10 months. Buses don't park there and cars are not allowed to park there.  It's time to allow cars to park there again. Please pass the word about this meeting and try to attend if you can find the time.  Thank-You!

A Couple of Things...

Just a couple of things.
#1. Please Return What You Borrow
If you borrow one of the (3) stepladders from the electrical room in the basement, please return them as soon as you are done with it. These ladders are the property of 24 Norman Street and are available for everyone to use, but only if they are actually available.

#2. Park Considerately

If you are lucky enough to find an open parking space in front of the building, please remember that there is space for (3) regular vehicles and (1) handicapped vehicle. Please park in a way that allows for other vehicles to fit in the space ether in front of you or behind you. 

#3. Do Not Leave Things in the Hallways/Stairways
The common areas should not be used to store personal items. This includes bags of trash and litter, furniture, and packages. It should either be in your unit, or on it's way to/from someplace else. Packages delivered to the mailbox area should be picked up as soon as possible, especially if they are large and blocking either the mailboxes or the staircase.

Boston Globe Survey: Dedicated Bus Parking in Holyoke Square

Should Salem continue to maintain dedicated bus spaces in Holyoke Square? - The Boston Globe

If you have followed this blog for any length of time, you are aware that the city council recently narrowly voted to make the north side of Holyoke Square into dedicated tour bus parking, year-round.
This has had an adverse affect on the availability of parking spaces in the neighborhood of 24 Norman Street.

An article posted to the April 21 bostonglobe.com website featured arguments for and against dedicated tour bus parking in Holyoke Square. Arguing YES was Kate Fox, Executive director of Destination Salem, arguing NO was Arthur Sargent, Salem city councilor at large.
The link to the article is here: http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/regionals/north/2017/04/21/should-salem-continue-maintain-dedicated-bus-spaces-holyoke-square/TlMapKBUM8CIfEvrk3SR2H/story.html

There was also a survey asking "Should Salem continue to maintain dedicated bus spaces in Holyoke Square?". If you have the time and/or a subscription to the Globe website, please go and read the article, and vote. The results as of Friday were 39 votes AGAINST and 18 votes FOR. Although it is a non-binding survey, anything we can do to make our opinion heard will be helpful. You can be sure that the opposing side will be networking in favor of their agenda.

Temporary Parking Changes on Hoyoke

The parking situation on Holyoke Street took a twist two weeks ago when new signs were installed on both the east and west sides of the street. The new signs by the Holyoke Insurance building (Common Ground Enterprises) were changed to seemingly restrict after-hours parking. However, according to Ward Councilor Arthur Sargent;
"The parking spaces on Norman St and Holyoke Sq that are beside Common Ground Enterprises should only be reserved for them during the day (8:00 am to 5:30 pm) Monday thru Friday."
Arthur copied Markwood on emails he received from Lt. Preczewski of the police dept and Matt Smith from the parking dept which confirmed this.  They worked with Common Ground Enterprises to correct the signs to properly reflect The City Ordnance. So you can park on the Holyoke Building side (west side) of the street between 6:00 pm and 7:30 am on weekdays, and all day on Saturday and Sunday without any problems.

The signs on the Verizon building (east side) were changed to allow 2 hour parking on Holyoke.
The apparent compromise on the bus parking area initially looked  promising, but was actually calculated to divide the small-business signers from the residential participants in the petition.
There is currently a petition drive with almost 2,000 signatures to modify or eliminate the tour bus parking. By allowing temporary parking the city appears to be addressing the issue that was driving businesses on Gedney Street to oppose tour bus parking–loss of business due to the lack of convenient available parking in the area.
This change is only temporary, and ignores resident parking needs as it does not allow for weekend parking. Again, according to Ward Councilor Arthur Sargent;
 "The temporary parking where the Bus Spaces are is from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm. 
Although this theoretically means that you can park there between 6:00 pm and 7:30 am on weekdays, and all day on Saturday and Sunday, (as that is in line with the city-wide parking ordinance), since this is not reflected on the signage, you do so at your own risk.

Markwood will keep you posted on any further developments.

A Parking Petition

A petition to eliminate the tour bus parking on the east side of Holyoke Street that was recently instituted is in the works and will be available to sign at Steve's Market very soon. Apparently the residents of 24 Norman Street are not the only ones in the neighborhood who are upset about the lack of due process, representation and transparency in the city council decision to take away an entire street of local and resident daytime parking in favor of tour buses. The decision, instigated by Kate Fox of Destination Salem, and supported by our ward councilor, Heather Famico, adversely affects not only us, but customers of the businesses on Gedny Street, and even the residents of 10 Norman Street and Barton Square. If we get enough signatures on the  petition, we have a good chance of overturning this decision, as the city councilor vote to do this was very close (6 councilors voted for it, 5 voted against it) I will keep you posted as things develop.

City of Salem Offers Free Parking December 24 and 31

In order to encourage residents to shop local and support Salem’s small businesses this holiday season, Mayor Kim Driscoll has announced that parking in all City-owned locations in Salem will be free on Wednesday, December 24.

Then, on Wednesday December 31, metered spaces and City-owned surface lots will also be free after 4:00 p.m. and the Museum Place and South Harbor parking garages will be free after 7:00 p.m., in order to help encourage residents and visitors to come ring in the New Year in downtown Salem.

“I hope everyone doing their last minute holiday shopping will keep our local small retailers and shops in mind,” said Mayor Driscoll. “To make it just a bit easier for all of you late shoppers, the City will not be charging for parking on December 24th. Now you don’t have an excuse!”

The City of Salem and Salem Main Streets have also once again partnered to host “LAUNCH! New Year’s Eve Salem” at Old Town Hall in Derby Square from 4:00 P.M. – 7:00 P.M. on New Year’s Eve night. This free and family-friendly party will include music by The Dejas, New Year’s Eve related activities and crafts for kids of all ages, and will end with an early countdown and balloon drop at 7:00 p.m.