Arlington residents defend right to park on street

Swan Place residents, who have been allowed to park overnight and during the day on their street since 1995, might be prohibited from doing so in a few months.

“Resident parking only” signs on the street were briefly replaced with “one-hour parking” signs on Swan Place after a parking subcommittee recommended ceasing to issue $10/year overnight and daytime parking permits to residents of the neighborhood, located in the town’s center off Pleasant Street. First granted 17 years ago for a 180-day trial period, the permits were reissued every year since then until the town discovered the oversight this year.

At their meeting Monday, selectmen said the signs were changed prematurely and sent the matter back to the parking subcommittee for more study. “Resident parking only” signs have gone back up.

If selectmen opt to eliminate the Swan Place permits, enforcement of one-hour parking would begin Jan. 1 and residents would have to park in the nearby municipal lot or apply for $200/year overnight parking passes, available to those who can prove they have no off-street parking or other parking options, or who can demonstrate hardship.

Monday, Richard Langone, of 12 Swan Place, raised his voice as he told selectmen they had ruined his street and said enforcing one-hour parking there was “ridiculous.” He has a one-car driveway but rents rooms to people with cars, he said, and others have no driveway.

“We have no driveways and your answer is to stick us with one-hour parking and overnight parking. Where are we supposed to park?” Langone asked. “I have to park a block down the street to stay at my own house?”

Langone and others said they bought their homes with the understanding there was a residential parking system and their property values would drop if the system were taken away.

However, Selectman Diane Mahon said the board can’t be responsible for what realtors lead buyers to believe, and stressed the need to be fair.

“Hundreds and thousands of people pay to park in the municipal parking lot during the day and night and everyone pays the same,” Mahon said.

But Swan Place resident Roberta Lasnik pointed out the houses on Swan Place were built before driveways were common and shouldn’t be held to the same rules as modern houses.

“Your plan is not a plan for this neighborhood. Every neighborhood is different and you have to be wise enough to be able to settle that out,” Lasnik said. “Not everyone fits in the same square or round hole.”