But if the recommendations to the council are complete, as several people have indicated, then the council could act on the survey as soon as possible to rectify the existing over-crowded parking conditions.
Even if one or both of the councillors' proposals were enacted into law, however, the over-crowding would not be completely eliminated. There are just too many cars to be parked, and many of the proposed spaces would be too far from the University to be used consistently.
According to police records, almost 2,700 automobiles have been registered with the University, which can provide for only 600 in its own Western Avenue parking lot. Several hundred more are accommodated in commercial garages by students who can afford to keep them there. But the majority of the students cars are left on the city streets over-night where it is illegal to park after 1 a.m. without dropping coins in the meters.
No Campaign Yet
The police have not been particularly "tough" on illegal parking so far this year. Contrary to earlier statements they have initiated no "drives" to chase illegal parkers off the streets. According to Captain Meyer, the head of the Traffic Division of the Police Department, only a very small number of cars has been toward away by police this fall.
Since more than the usual number of complaints for an area come from individuals living near the University, police are instructed to tag violators in this area even without specific requests to do so. Meyer was surprised that his men receive as few complaints as they do from local residents, since "the students usually monopolize the parking spaces around the College without any courtesy."
Towing Procedure
Under a special ordinance, police can tow away cars which have out-of-state license plates, whose owners have received and failed to respond to one warning ticket at the police station. This ordinance is not usually observed so strictly, however. For Massachusetts plates, the police are authorized to tow away the cars only after a third ignored warning.
Sunday parking has also become a controversial question recently. Last year, police officially allowed students to sleep late on the Sabbath without fear that their cars might be towed away early in the mornings. This year no such official leniency has been granted, though it is generally understood that the policemen will be more lenient than on week-days.
Some opposition has already been expressed to any new ordinance the council might pass to ease the parking situation. Such a regulation would probably be based on the Traffic Board's or the Planning Board's recommendations, and some persons feel that these boards will hand in an unfavorable report.
Sources of Opposition
The city street cleaning and snow removal departments would oppose any all-night parking, Meyer thinks, since it would hinder their efficient operation. Councillor Sullivan answered this by saying that parking could be made one-way one day and reversed the next to allow city vehicles to do their work every other morning.
Meyer also thought that commercial garages would object to allowing street parking, which might take away some of their business. He feels that students would all park out on the streets under the proposed plans, since they could do it free, and this would crowd things even more.
The other foe of change in the parking procedure is the man who is held mainly responsible for bringing it about, Davis, the City Engineer. He recently stated. "Students deserve no consideration at all, the way they stop traffic in the Square. Besides, all the other colleges don't even allow some students to have cars."