the airing of grievances

[runawayjim]

Meter maids go home at 4pm ( which of course means they don't ticket after 3 ) and the cops don't really bother with meters, only parking violations like parking too close to a hydrant.

interesting... i had dinner on the hill tonight and parked on spruce... 2 cars parked right in front of a hydrant, no tickets.

[Cotuit]

Meter maids go home at 4pm ( which of course means they don't ticket after 3 )

That's not entirely true.

[JJK5]

So what are the meter rules in the city? Do you have to pay on weekends? Do you have to pay at night? I never know and of course they don't post anything on the meter itself.

[runawayjim]

So what are the meter rules in the city? Do you have to pay on weekends? Do you have to pay at night? I never know and of course they don't post anything on the meter itself.

they post it on those green and white parking signs. it depends on where you are, but most places are like 8am-6pm except sundays and holidays. i think there's a couple streets that are more limited than that, but that seems to be the standard.

[magoldbe]

Yeah, what is the deal with the sirens? I live in the Armory, and the sirens are CONSTANT

Anyone else in the neighborhood have a theory?

The Armory is a high-density neighborhood. Lots more people in much less space -- in the armory most houses contain at least 3 apartments. It's just math: if on average 1 in 100 households will suffer a crime, fire, or medical emergency at any given time you're going to have a lot more 911 calls packed into the armory than, say, barrington. And that's not even taking into account traffic accidents, street altercations, and the like. Plus, the Armory is only 1.5 miles from RI hospital and .5 miles from the "safety complex"

I can see how all this noise might be alarming (ha ha!) to someone new to city life -- but the sound of sirens is pretty ubiquitous in any high-density urban area. at least this has been my experience... all my life. I don't even hear them anymore.

any of you new urbanism mavens have a solution to this one?

[runawayjim]

The Armory is a high-density neighborhood. Lots more people in much less space -- in the armory most houses contain at least 3 apartments. It's just math: if on average 1 in 100 households will suffer a crime, fire, or medical emergency at any given time you're going to have a lot more 911 calls packed into the armory than, say, barrington. And that's not even taking into account traffic accidents, street altercations, and the like. Plus, the Armory is only 1.5 miles from RI hospital and .5 miles from the "safety complex"

I can see how all this noise might be alarming (ha ha!) to someone new to city life -- but the sound of sirens is pretty ubiquitous in any high-density urban area. at least this has been my experience... all my life. I don't even hear them anymore.

any of you new urbanism mavens have a solution to this one?

i'd say that being so close to the public safety complex has more to do with the sirens than the density. you can probably hear everything that gets dispatched out of there no matter what neighborhood they're headed for.

the armory isn't quite as dense as say federal hill or olneyville. since there's a lot of people from the hill here... i don't see them complaining about the same thing... but yes, density is also a factor, as is just living in a city.

[jencoleslaw]

knight st is the major thoroughfare for every fire engine, cop car and ambulance. I could definately do with a little less siren.

[Cotuit]

I hear sirens right now as I type, but they generally don't bother me. The crappy bells on the church bother me far more, and the bells are far less frequent, but still far more annoying.

[runawayjim]

I hear sirens right now as I type, but they generally don't bother me. The crappy bells on the church bother me far more, and the bells are far less frequent, but still far more annoying.

i must live just the right distance from the church between smith st and mount pleasant ave near gentian. i can hear the bells, but they're not very loud here. i kind of like hearing them on a lazy day spring or summer day. it's kind of comforting.

[ruchele]

The Armory is a high-density neighborhood. Lots more people in much less space -- in the armory most houses contain at least 3 apartments. Plus, the Armory is only 1.5 miles from RI hospital and .5 miles from the "safety complex"

I can see how all this noise might be alarming (ha ha!) to someone new to city life -- but the sound of sirens is pretty ubiquitous in any high-density urban area. at least this has been my experience... all my life. I don't even hear them anymore.

I don't buy it. I spent many years living in Boston, and I spend a lot of time in New York. I'm not new to urban living by any stretch of the imagination. Actually, I've never lived in anywhere but urban areas, and the Armory among the least-dense places I've lived. Maybe there's just more general urban noise in bigger cities than here in Providence, so you just don't hear them as much, but I swear the sirens are more frequent and longer than I hear in either of those places- (or maybe the frequency just seems out of scale for Providence's size).

Coincidentally, our waitress brought this up on her own tonight, as firetrucks and cop cars screamed down Atwells. Her theory was that it's a combination of the high crime rate and the large number of colleges- when she was in school (somewhere in Providence), they had a major problem with students continually pulling the dorm fire alarms as a prank. I don't know about that theory, either.

I think the proximity to the safety complex must be a part of the issue. I don't hear the emergency vehicles coming into the neighborhood so much as I hear them passing on the way to Olneyville and other places. And a piece of it may honestly be something about the law enforcement culture in Providence.

It seems like a lot of New York law enforcement is about quality of life issues, like unneccessary noise. I was recently in a 40-minute traffic jam on the Lower East Side and NO ONE honked their horns- there are fines and points off your license if you do (not to say no one ever does, but the general culture there has changed. Compare to everyone's horn-as-doorbell complaints above.) Here in Providence, if police aren't expected to prioritize responding to a party raging at 2:00 a.m., which they aren't in most neighborhoods, how can we expect them to prioritize something like prudent siren use?

Here's an interesting fact, straight from the mouth of Dean Esserman- Did you know that the ambulances are a part of the fire department in Providence, and that, by contract, they send fire trucks every time an ambulance is called? That seems like not just a source of unneccessary noise, but a huge waste of taxpayer's money (and I LIKE unions!).

Sorry for the rant. It's gotten to be one of those things where, once I started getting bugged by them, I can't not hear them. I'm just waiting until it's cool enough to close the windows, and hoping I'll forget about my pet peeve by next spring.

[runawayjim]

Here's an interesting fact, straight from the mouth of Dean Esserman- Did you know that the ambulances are a part of the fire department in Providence, and that, by contract, they send fire trucks every time an ambulance is called? That seems like not just a source of unneccessary noise, but a huge waste of taxpayer's money (and I LIKE unions!).

it's like that in my hometown too... not sure about unions, but a lot of the FD is volunteer. but it used to be that the FD responded with the PD for every 911 call because 911 went to the FD.

[xine]

it's like that in my hometown too... not sure about unions, but a lot of the FD is volunteer. but it used to be that the FD responded with the PD for every 911 call because 911 went to the FD.

Also a lot of FD calls are to auto accidents - the fire departments I used to work with would tell me they spent most of their day showing up at fender-benders.

Even with the siren people don't seem to know how get out of the way so I understand why they run them all the time. Just today I saw some clueless guy in a pickup truck slowly drift along in front of a raging fire-truck wtih sirens blaring totally blocking it in.

Fire is scary, especially in a city with this many wood apartment buildings so I say let 'em wail, but maybe we're all too used to them and not hearing them. I think they should get some new tones - like the bee-boo-bee-boo ones in the UK which are still functional but somehow are not so annoying.

[Cotuit]

I think they should get some new tones - like the bee-boo-bee-boo ones in the UK which are still functional but somehow are not so annoying.

They've done research on sirens in New York and found that people let them float into the background noise and often don't actually register that they are hearing them. It was recommended that the sound of the NY sirens change every few years so that people can't get used to them.

[quente]

They've done research on sirens in New York and found that people let them float into the background noise and often don't actually register that they are hearing them. It was recommended that the sound of the NY sirens change every few years so that people can't get used to them.

Frankly, I think Providence has changed the sound of its sirens and that's why so many of us are hearing it now. I noticed that many of the police cars are sporting new, low-profile roller bars.

Just today I saw some clueless guy in a pickup truck slowly drift along in front of a raging fire-truck wtih sirens blaring totally blocking it in.

I think they should get some new tones - like the bee-boo-bee-boo ones in the UK which are still functional but somehow are not so annoying.

Part of the problem is that when you hear a siren while driving, particularly in the city, you can't readily tell what direction it's coming from and it's difficult to gauge how close it is to you. Perhaps it's the reverb off the buildings that's part of the problem, but I had read that the UK sirens were more useful in helping motorists know where the emergency vehicles were coming from. I find our sirens to be disorienting.

And that's my opinion on sirens!

[runawayjim]

Frankly, I think Providence has changed the sound of its sirens and that's why so many of us are hearing it now. I noticed that many of the police cars are sporting new, low-profile roller bars.

Part of the problem is that when you hear a siren while driving, particularly in the city, you can't readily tell what direction it's coming from and it's difficult to gauge how close it is to you. Perhaps it's the reverb off the buildings that's part of the problem, but I had read that the UK sirens were more useful in helping motorists know where the emergency vehicles were coming from. I find our sirens to be disorienting.

And that's my opinion on sirens!

i don't think the new light bar brought new sirens. they sound the same. plus the fire department wouldn't have changed with the police department.

generally, when a fire truck is behind you and you're not moving, they blast that really loud horn. if you don't realize it's behind you, you probably shouldn't be driving. when a siren is directly behind you, lights flashing and all, you know it's behind you, at least with fire trucks and ambulances that have those loud horns they use when people don't move.

[eltron]

Grievance reiteration:

Increase street sweeping four-fold...

My neighborhood was swept last night, and will not be swept again for a very long time. This is sooo inadequate its embarrassing.

[runawayjim]

Grievance reiteration:

Increase street sweeping four-fold...

My neighborhood was swept last night, and will not be swept again for a very long time. This is sooo inadequate its embarrassing.

i was swept back in like may or june. that was the first time i saw a street sweeper in the nearly 3 years i've been here.

[jencoleslaw]

Grievance reiteration:

Increase street sweeping four-fold...

My neighborhood was swept last night, and will not be swept again for a very long time. This is sooo inadequate its embarrassing.

exactly. if the city is going to piss and moan about overnight on street parking not being an option because of street sweeping, they better get that cod-damned machine out there ever freaking week.

[Liamlunchtray]

exactly. if the city is going to piss and moan about overnight on street parking not being an option because of street sweeping, they better get that cod-damned machine out there ever freaking week.

We get swept once or twice a year, but in the 6 years we have lived here not once has it been during the overnight no parking hours.

[jencoleslaw]

really? everywhere i've lived in Providence, the sweepers come at about 2 or 3 am. Even last night. because they are so damn loud, i wake up every time.

[Liamlunchtray]

really? everywhere i've lived in Providence, the sweepers come at about 2 or 3 am. Even last night. because they are so damn loud, i wake up every time.

Every time we have ever been swept its between 9-11pm. The entrance to my driveway tends to collect a lot of dirt and leaves and I end up having to shovel it all up myself. That is odd though that you get swept late at night because I dont think we live all that far from each other. We must be at the start of the route or something.

[runawayjim]

We get swept once or twice a year, but in the 6 years we have lived here not once has it been during the overnight no parking hours.

it was at night when we were swept... but it was before the no parking hours started (i think it was at like 9:30 or 10 when they came through).

[jencoleslaw]

i may have been dreaming it but i swear they came through AGAIN last night. Liam, i do think we live close to each other. What time does your trash get picked up? we usually get picked up around 4 am although sometimes it is as late as 8 or 9.

[runawayjim]

i may have been dreaming it but i swear they came through AGAIN last night. Liam, i do think we live close to each other. What time does your trash get picked up? we usually get picked up around 4 am although sometimes it is as late as 8 or 9.

wow, your trash gets picked up early. i go home for lunch because i live close to work... usually my trash is still sitting there waiting to be picked up around noon. the recycle men come through early though, around 6 or 7.

[Liamlunchtray]

i may have been dreaming it but i swear they came through AGAIN last night. Liam, i do think we live close to each other. What time does your trash get picked up? we usually get picked up around 4 am although sometimes it is as late as 8 or 9.

Our trash is generally between 7am and 9am.

As soon as I finished typing that last post the street sweepers came by, and once again there is a big spot around my car. Doh.