Thank you for calling 311, alternate siding parking is in effect. Huh?

Coming out of my house this morning, I was walking down the block and passed my car when I realized that it was parked on the Thursday side. My first reaction, knowing alternate side has been canceled every day so far and that the whole side of the street still had its cars parked on it, that there was no way the city would have alternate side parking in effect. Then I stopped and thought to myself that I know this city to well to trust it, so I grabbed my cell and dialed good old 311. Sure enough within a few seconds it said, “alternate side parking was in effect”.

I have to ask, has the Mayor, Department of Sanitation, Transportation or whoever is in charge, seen neighborhoods like Queens? I don’t know about anyone else but my neighborhood got dumped on with over two feet of snow and despite the warm weather those five feet high piles of snow that people made digging out has still not completely melted. Some cars that the owners have not dugout still have a good foot of snow along their car where the city plow blocked them in.

What I want to know is where does the city think people are going to find a spot considering snow mounds have taken up most spots? With both sides of the street available there’s barely enough spots because of the snow still present, let alone having only one side.

Fortunately my car is a gas guzzling SUV and I busted out of my plowed in truck and found a spot around the block after driving over another mound. My sympathy is for those people who just assumed the city wouldn’t have been that greedy in wanting to write tickets and didn’t bother to check who will probably come home to find a nice orange note on their windshield.

The best though is when I stayed on the line of 311 to voice a complaint; the woman first didn’t know who to reference the complaint too. When I suggested the Department of Sanitation since they clean the streets she put me on hold for several minutes before coming back to give me an address to the Department of Transportation. What they have to do with the issue is beyond me. That’s like writing a letter to Wal-Mart to complain about Target. I just told her to have a nice day and told myself I’m crazy if I thought calling would get me anything but a missed bus.