Every day, drivers across New York double-park their cars as street sweepers pass by, a practice known as alternate-side parking.
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and say whether the statements below are true or false.
1 Cars are allowed to return to their side immediately after the streets have been cleaned.
2 Some drivers set their alarm clock to remember to move their cars back.
3 Some drivers wait in their cars until the prohibition ends.
4 Drivers complain of damages to theirs cars.
5 If drivers fail to move their cars, they risk getting a ticket or heavier penalties.
6 A new bill was passed recently allowing drivers not to move their cars while the street is being cleaned.
Every day throughout New York City, it’s the high stakes dance of alternate side parking. When parking is prohibited on one side of the street so the streets can be swept, drivers double park on the other. It doesn’t matter when the street sweeper passes, cars are not allowed to return until the prohibition is over.
How many times do you estimate you move your car back and forth?
In a week or in a…
In your lifetime.
Oh, many thousand times, easily.
In my lifetime, in my lifetime? It feels like millions.
Some drivers leave their cars and return just before the prohibition ends to re-park legally.
I leave my car and set the alarm on my phone and come, come back and move it again.
I’m home during the day generally, so I feel that’s a relatively good deal if… to get your street cleaned.
Some choose to wait in their cars until the prohibition ends.
People come by, I’ve had my mirror taken off, I’ve had dents in my car, I’ve had scratches. Sometimes I leave it and just bite the bullet and get a ticket if I don’t have the time to move it, I’ve done that too.
Time it wrong, you get a ticket. Pay your tickets late, you get the boot, or you get towed.
But this might all change. City council member, Ydanis Rodríguez has introduced a bill that will allow drivers to return to their spot directly after the street sweeper passes by.
I’ve heard about that, so after the street is cleaned, we can move back, we don’t have to stay here for the hour and a half or two hours or whatever it is.
Yeah, what do you think about that?
I think that’s great, I would love to do, I would love that.
I thought, I thought that bill is passed already.
I don’t think that’s a good idea personally, because how do you know whether it’s come and gone, you have to keep looking outside. Sometimes they never come, and that’s really annoying.
Whether or not the bill actually passes, the dance of alternate side parking will continue.
So I’d really like to move my car back right now. Yeah!
Key:
1F 2F 3T 4T 5T 6F
