To the editor:
I was quite disturbed to see every car parked on School Street [in Great Barrington] getting ticketed when we went to the Farmer’s Market today. We were in the lot, so we were okay but we have certainly parked on the street in the past.
There are no “No Parking” signs on the road. The officer said the absence of parking spot lines indicates that it is not legal to park there. He further stated that parking regulations are on the website and that’s where people should go to find out if a spot is legal.
He was perfectly nice and I felt sorry for him having to enforce this — he said it came from “the very top.”
There were many out-of-state license plates and I think it is extremely unwelcoming for the town to be issuing parking tickets on a street where it isn’t at all clear that parking is prohibited. Especially since this is the second-to-last Farmers Market of the season. Is this really the message we want to send to market goers?
If there is a sudden concern about keeping Church Street free of parked cars, perhaps a warning would have been more appropriate? Or actually erecting a No Parking sign, since clearly folks have no idea it is not okay to park there.
Hinda Bodinger
S. Egremont
