At 2AM this December 1, Newton’s overnight parking ban returns. The City Council has made up its mind: the ban is worth all the trouble it causes, at least for another winter.
For these next four long months, many Newton residents will find themselves once again walking to and from remote parking arrangements in the icy dark, or wasting their scarce time shuffling cars.
Having spent the past several months in the field gathering signatures, I can say that the effects of the overnight parking ban are especially felt by those who have to drive to work, people with disabilities, families with young children, and members of multigenerational households. Even those who are not particularly burdened by it still recognize that the overnight parking ban is absurd and overly harsh.
Indeed, the inability of the City Council to address the concerns of what now amounts to nearly 10,000 signatories is emblematic of how many feel alienated by the political establishment, and feel talked down to by their elected representatives.
The good news is a ballot question is coming. When voters go to the polls in two years, I expect that they will not only vote to repeal the overnight parking ban but also for leaders who listen and embrace common sense.
Jeremy Freudberg
Newton Highlands
