Reader BPM offers a tale of transportation woes:
I just moved to Hamden, Ct. outside New Haven. I take the MetroNorth train to Grand Central Station in NYC and walk to work. To get to the train, I drive. Usually I get dropped off, but sometimes I park in a garage. I’d rather ride a bike, but the roads aren’t the best for biking. Plan B is to get a scooter — a Vespa probably.
But! I learned today that it is not only illegal to park a scooter or motorcycle in one of the two garages immediately near Union Station in New Haven. It is also illegal to park them at a bike rack. Moreover, it is illegal to park at the edge of a sidewalk. The only legal option is to park at a 2 hour meter — not something very practical for people who use the station to commute, rather than, say, stop by for two hours.
Incredibly frustrating. One thing I will say is that though local government policies are often misguided, local government can also be incredibly responsive to busybodies. It probably wouldn’t take too many emails from New Haven-area scooter owners to local officials to get someone to change this and make some kind of provision for scooter owners to park somewhere by the station.