It was exciting; I used to live on the Maréchaux, and they really are nasty, too-wide ring roads; think Northern Boulevard or Boston Road. And of course, the buses took forever.

There are groups who would rather have seen the old parallel “Petite Ceinture” rail line reopened to passenger traffic, from a transportation standpoint, but for traffic calming you can’t beat those streetcars. I can’t wait to ride them.

Click on my name for a site with pictures of the Petite Ceinture.

I could see NYers being more willing to register properly if the rates were tied to the # of miles that they actually drove.

What must I do if I receive a parking ticket?
The DMV does not handle parking violations or regulate parking. If you receive a parking ticket or have questions about local parking rules, contact your city, town or village. Do not contact the DMV. You must respond to the tickets in the locality where they were issued.

If you fail to answer parking tickets, the locality can notify the DMV. The DMV can prevent the renewal of your vehicle registration, or suspend your vehicle registration. You can renew your registration after you respond to the tickets and pay the fines.

“In 2005, nearly 300,000 New York city parking summonses were issued to cars registered in Pennsylvania, of which more than 150,000, valued at more than $14 million — remain unpaid as of February 2006.”

Apparently people are really motivated to reduce their auto insurance premiums. A 19-year-old who was working the cash register where I was shopping yesterday told her co-workers, “The Expedition is registered in my name because Uncle Harry has a little DUI problem.”