I still believe your stance is absurd. The real "thugs" are the people who stand in the window of their nice warm house, watch me risk life and limb shoveling out a parking place, and then just appropriate the fruit of my labor for themselves.

I'm with Henry. Your car came from a spot, it should go back in that spot. The person who took "the last spot at 11pm" just royally screwed the person who came back home at 11:15 to find their previous spot occupied and now unable to park anywhere nearby.

People mark spots because their neighbors are too rude to help shovel. I saw tons of people shoveling snow into the road and into previously cleared spots. They're the real antisocial bunch, not the person who puts a chair where their car was so they can actually return home.

If you parked on a snow emergency route and can't return, you should've considered that the night before the storm.

I don't promote violence but agree holdheartly with Henry. I think these people are crazy. I am 51 years old got out there and shoveled for hours to clear out a spot so that I could get to work. Is it right for my neigbor who parked out of the block before the snow and did not shovel at all to now bring his car and park it in my shoveled area while I am working? I feel those people are "thieves" and they should be fined. If we did not shovel "our space" there would be no spaces for these free loaders to steal because the city did not come in our block at all.

I total agree with Vera. She said it best.

I love how the people who advocate illegally putting the chairs out and violence if they're ignored categorically ignore the many of us who DID dig out spaces, but weren't selfish enough to think that entitled us to illegally claim private parking spaces. It's really nice for us to be getting home at 11:15 to find lots of open spaces that are protected by your thuggish implied threats of vandalism.

I shoveled out, went to work, came home, and the spot was taken. I shoveled a new spot, and parked. Then I helped shovel out the girl who was parked in front of me. No big deal.

Henry, Derek, Vera, and Tiffany only prove one thing to me.....some people just aren't cut out for city living. If you want to have your own parking spot, move to the suburbs or shell out the cash for place with a reserved spot. Y'all should really keep your sense of entitlement in check.

Signed,

The girl who shoveled out three or four different parking spots during the last storm

I shoveled out three spots in front of my house. A large truck then parked in front of my house for several days, taking up two spots. When he moved marked the spots that I shoveled with a cone. I moved the cone (to another free spot just behind the one in front of my house) and parked in front of my house, as I had shoveled the spot, it is in front of my house, and that's how parking works. He took the cone, but didn't like that space and drove on. Later, he then tracked me down in the street, called me rude, and threatened me. Sure enough, screw in the tire two days later, completely flat. Had I marked a space in the first place, I guess I wouldn't have had that problem. It's always nice to be rewarded for trying to do the right thing.

You people have to be completely carzy as well. These are "public" roads and not "private" driveways. It is un-fortunate that you have selfish neighbors, but simply thinking it is "your spot" since you were the one to shovel it out is being just as selfish.

o.k. o.k. I have read everyones complaint and comments. Our entire neighborhood spent hours and hours shoveling our street and our parking spots. We have (i'll call him) a part-time vistors. He does not live in the neighborhood, but visit the resident everyday! The vistor car was stuck in the "middle"" of the street, we shoveled him out and he went on his way. He then returned within hours and parked in a spot we shoveled for ourselves. He saw the work that we were doing and just drove off, not once lending a helping hand. When we are at work, he moves a cone or chair and park his car in a reserved spot. Does that make him right or are we wrong to approach him??? need someone to assit. I know we live on a public street and space is not desginated, but ......he is WRONG!!!!Let me add that when he moves a chair, that leads the other person with nowhere to park!!!

I live in the city and I shoveled and saved my spot. I am not embarrassed about this and I am not a thug or gangster. Unfortunately, Baltimore actually does have real thugs and gangsters who kill people. This is why it is important for me to save my spot. If I didn't, I would get home at night and not have a spot. I would have to park far away from my house, and possibly put myself in danger of being mugged, jumped, raped or killed. I'm excited for people who have nothing else to worry about but passing judgement on people who save parking spots, but seriously, get a life. Stop acting like Baltimore's biggest problem is hard working professionals who save parking spots while they're at work. This city is a HOT MESS with crime. If as many people had this kind of passion about our murder rate, maybe we'd be headed in the right direction.

since when are lawn chairs considered thuggish acts/threats of violence?? 4th of july will never be the same again. watch out for those patio umbrellas and bbq grills. they'll get ya!

I believe that several of you are misreading the results and the discussion the so called thuggish behavior is not the people saving spots with chairs, it's the people who resorted to vandalism when their spots were taken.

Sure, go ahead and try to stake a claim and hope that people respect the chair. But, if someone does move it and takes the spot, you don't have the right to resort to vandalism.

Anyone who works for a living is smart enough to understand the phrase "city streets". City as in public. Public as in not belonging to you. Therefore, all of the comments referencing "my space" are inherently flawed. It isn't your anything; it's ours.

That's the law and them's the breaks. Life isn't like The Little Red Hen, you're going to have to share the bread. Besides, carbs are evil... Unless you need the energy to finish shoveling my new spot.

We tried to be good Butchers Hill neighbors. We shoveled and salted our sidewalks promptly, time and time again throughout February (and during past storms). We shoveled our neighbor's walk/steps too, since she's pregnant. We shoveled out the closest fire hydrant and helped make a dent in the shoveling for the community center sidewalks near us. We took the elderly neighbor's mail up to the corner mail box for them. We tried so hard to obey the snow route signs and move cars at 9 a.m. and 9 p.m., once spending more than an hour to find a new spot at 9 p.m., glad to finally find a spot in Patterson Park, only to return home and someone had illegally parked in the spot we vacated, time and time again. What was the point. It is frustrating when you try to be a good neighbor and play by the rules, but when others don't, no one wins. If the cars are still parked along the snow routes, the plows can't clear the street.

And since we can no longer stand the parking mess, we put our house up for sale and are hoping to buy a house with parking in a different neighborhood nearby. And we will make sure that this parking is actually accessible during messes like these blizzards. And I'm sure wherever we move, we will still try to shovel with and for our neighbors and do what we can to make our block safe and clean.

I know this is pretty late to respond but I just found this blog while googling some other city issues.... I absolutely agree with the author. Unfortunately, I was not able to make it home to park on my block and had to park somewhere else on the Friday of the first storm. Once I shoveled out, I felt no desire to save the spot. EVERYONE had to shovel out just like the person who decided to save a spot with a chair. In fact, I shoveled three spots during that time so that I could park after removing my car to go to work. Since I didn't want to lose my spot, I just didn't move my car until I absolutely had too after getting home.... I was just as outraged when the Mayor said that she had other things to worry about. Parking is always an issue and the fact that people can conveniently park by using chairs when it snows is absurd. Like I said.... EVERYONE HAD TO SHOVEL OUT OF A SPOT. So if someone came home to their neighborhood and parked in a marked spot and was punished for it is sad. I'm sure that the person who took the spot put just as much umph into cleaning out a spot as well.
You know, I sometimes feel like a prisoner in my home because if I move my car on game days or weekend nights, I know I will not be able to park. Permits would help, but that's a no no if the entire block doesn't agree. Maybe the Mayor will let my neighborhood bring out the chairs on nights, weekends and game days....