The City of Lowell has declared a parking ban tonight which means that cars MUST NOT be left in our the surface lot overnight. Please move your car to either the Hamilton Canal garage behind Canal Place 3 (free to residents as long as the ban is in effect) or to the Leo Roy garage (NOT free unless you have a pass card already) as soon as possible. Cars left in the lot may be towed to allow for plowing.

The city announcement appears below.

Snow Emergency Parking Ban

A Snow Emergency Parking Ban has been declared for Thursday, January 6, 2022 at 5:55 p.m.  The ban shall be effective six hours later at 11:55 p.m. 

There shall be no parking on all City Streets from 11:55 p.m. until such time that the ban is lifted.  Motor vehicles parking in violation of such ban (City Ordinance, § 266-103: Parking prohibited) are subject to towing under the authority of the Lowell Police Department and such towing will be at the owner’s expense (§ 266-104: Removal authorized; charges).  Motor Vehicles shall also receive a parking violation ticket. 

FREE Parking for City residents who do not have access to “off-street” parking during “Snow Emergency – Parking Ban” is available beginning at 5:55 p.m. at:  

George Ayotte Parking Facility 
1 Post Office Square  
Lowell, MA  01852 

Lower Locks Garage 
90 Warren Street 
Lowell, MA 01852 

Hamilton Canal Garage 
Dutton St. @ Broadway St.

Once the “Snow Emergency” is lifted, any City of Lowell residents that have parked in the free parking spaces will have 2 hours to remove their vehicles from the facility without incurring any additional expenses.  Vehicles not removed within two hours will be assessed a fee from that time until the vehicle is removed. 

The back elevator is currently out of order. I don’t have specifics, but given the holiday and the weekend I’m guessing it may be a few days before it’s fixed. Without the back elevator, it may be necessary for dogs to occasionally use the front one. Please be patient and considerate, whether you’re a dog owner or someone for whom sharing the elevator with a canine is uncomfortable. If someone asks you to take the next one, please be kind and do it.

Also, if you’re getting rid of your Christmas tree, please wrap it carefully in a plastic bag/drop cloth or an old sheet when taking it out of the building so you don’t trail needles. This is especially important if you feel compelled to take it out via the front elevator rather than using the stairs or waiting for the back one to be fixed. Again, please be considerate of your neighbors.

A map for real Christmas tree drop-off locations can be found here.

If you missed picking up your free at-home COVID-19 tests last Saturday, the city will be handing them out again from 9:00 to 10:30 this morning at the Lowell Senior Center. These are for Lowell residents only—proof of residency required—and if you already picked up your two boxes on Saturday please resist the urge to go grab more. For more info, see the Lowell Sun story.

It has been brought to my attention that the mandate applies to multi-family dwellings (meaning us) as well as public businesses. The Board has been working over the weekend to clarify signage. After consulting with the City, new signs should be going up around the building some time tomorrow.

The City means business and is threatening fines of up to $300 for violating the mandate. Even more serious are the numbers coming out these past few days showing a much more transmissible variation of COVID-19 taking hold. Please mask up every time you leave your unit.

The COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Regulation of the City of Lowell Board of Health is accessible through this link and also appears below.

Lowell has instituted a new indoor mask mandate effective today. According to Monday’s article in the Lowell Sun, numbers are up significantly:

“Today at Lowell General Hospital, the two ICUs are full and two other floors were converted to ICUs, just like in April and May of 2020. There was a day last week that the nearest ICU bed to Lowell was in Virginia,” Galvin said. “The reason I’m here today in support of this is anything we can do to slow it down. If I can prevent one person from coming to the hospital needing a ventilator that we can’t give one, I’ll do it.”

I know a lot of us have been enjoying a more relaxed attitude regarding masks in the common areas—including myself—but please be aware that the situation has changed for the worse. Masking up is an important tool to help keep us all safe and I’d like to put out a personal plea for everyone to keep that in mind when in the building’s common spaces, especially enclosed ones like the elevators and mailroom.

Georgi has a new phone and is desperately looking for help getting it set up:

Hi – I need technical help!

When I am at home I can’t access my email or any other system that requires an internet connection, even though, when I go to Settings, it tells me I’m OK and I’m connected to my own system.

I’m confused and I’m afraid to press the wrong buttons that may mess up my system even more.

I know there has to be someone at CP that understands this stuff a lot better than I. Is there anyone who might be willing to give me a little of their precious time at this time of year to help me get this really frustrating problem straightened out? 

Call me at 978-764-5570 (THAT’s still working, thank goodness!).

Georgi May, Unit 406

There’s a policy in place regarding buying stickers from the office to place on certain large items that can then be left in the basement near the dumpster for Ron to remove (please check with the office for specifics). Please, please, please leave such items where they won’t impede traffic or block doors, preferably against a blank wall if possible. Someone was unable to get their car out today.

Just a reminder to be sure to wrap any real holiday trees being brought through the common areas—we always carry ours in in an old sheet—and please use the back elevator, not the front one. This becomes even more important when taking a dry tree out after the holidays. And if you do shed a few pine needles, please be a good neighbor and clean up after yourself.

When it comes to getting rid of your tree after the holiday, here’s what the City says about disposal: There is no curbside collection of Christmas trees. ​ ​Drop-off at one of nine sites from December 26th through the second Saturday in January or request the scouts from Lowell BSA Troop 23 to pick it up for a fee (email: lowellwardyouth@gmail.com)

That said, the Boy Scouts haven’t yet put up any info for this year’s tree pickup (https://sites.google.com/view/lowell-youth-tree-pickup). The last time we had them pick up our tree several years back I believe the fee was $20.

Also, we have a neighbor offering up a free bed frame (see below). Please contact admin@canalplaceone.com if you’re interested and I’ll pass the word along.

Hello Neighbors,
I am giving away a FREE Queen Size Platform Bed from Jordan’s Furniture. I live next door in Canal Place 3. It’s a beautiful dark wood, and it’s in great condition. It would need to be disassembled before moving to CP1, but I can help you move it. Pictures attached. You are welcome to stop by and take a look.
—Thanks, Julie

Lowell’s annual City of Lights Festival is tomorrow, the 27th. There will be food, crafts, music, photos with Santa, and more. The City of Lights Parade begins at 4:30 and the City Hall Lighting takes place immediately thereafter.

This event will involve road closures so please allow extra time if you’re planning to go out tomorrow afternoon or early evening. On the bright side, several city garages will have free parking all day (see below).

Lala Books, the new bookstore across the street from us on Market, will be hosting artists and other vendors from noon to five tomorrow. This is a great opportunity to do some Christmas shopping just a few steps from our front door.

From the Lowell Police Facebook page: The City of Lowell’s annual City of Lights Parade will take place this Saturday, November 27 beginning at 4:30 p.m. The parade will launch from Jackson Street and proceed to Central and Merrimack Streets before ending at City Hall.

Downtown parking will be restricted with no parking allowed on Jackson Street after 10 a.m. on Saturday. Nov. 27th.The parade route along Central and Merrimack Streets as well as Arcand Drive and Fr. Morissette Boulevard will also have restricted parking with no parking allowed after 2 p.m. Free parking will be available all day at the Tsongas Center, Market Street, John Street and Middlesex Street garages on Saturday, November 27.

There will be a Canal Place Board meeting tomorrow evening at 7:00 via Zoom. Owners are welcome to attend and should have received an e-mail from Cathy with a link. If you are missing the link, please check your spam folder or contact Cathy for it.