I'm a fan of Zipcar, a car sharing company. You become a member, you reserve a vehicle for an hourly rate, you walk to the vehicle, open it up, and off you go. I think it's a great service, but some Brookline residents disagree. Residents are discussing concerns about anything from the attraction of noisy drivers late at night to the absence of parking spots.
Personally, I've made the mistake of pulling into a Zipcar spot once or twice, only to be frustrated and move on, but I'm not so sure that was even in Brookline. I don't see the lack of spots as an issue, though, because I think it's addressed by not allowing Zipcar to take more than four spots in a lot.
I also think there are a lot of benefits to Zipcar. For one thing, folks who don't really need a car but want to be able to drive from time to time absolutely can. And it's not just local. While on vacation in New Hampshire last year, I saw a Massachusetts Zipcar parked in my hotel's lot. I think this addresses a need, and I think we, as a town, should find a way to make it work.
To that same end, Zipcar sent a letter to the Brookline TAB blog, which you can see here.
Feel free to discuss in the comments. Or not.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
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1 comments:
I'm also a huge fan of Zipcar -- I've been a member for about 5 years. It sounds like Brookline gets very anxious about anything having to do with parking! I live in Arlington, where there's parking to spare, and most residents seem oblivious to Zipcar's existence.
And as far as Zipcar attracting noisy drivers.... what? I wouldn't exactly cast Zipcar drivers as a reckless, inconsiderate lot. It takes a lot of responsibility to return those cars on time!
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