Rockporters may all know that the town's winter overnight street parking ban is in effect now through April 1.
And it's all well and good that, as police Chief Tom McCarthy noted, his department takes the number of visitors during holiday times into consideration, rather than taking a hard line on handing out tickets over the holiday season.
But the fact that the town doesn't post any signs letting motorists know about the ban is ludicrous, especially considering that drivers could be subject to towing if their cars are parked on a street cleared by the Department of Public Works during a storm.
Loose interpretations of regulations are, of course, nothing new in Rockport. Remember, this is the town that, embarrassingly, doesn't even have a true town charter, let alone any kind of master plan.
But if authorities are indeed going to enforce a winter street parking ban, the town owes it to motorists to post some notification such a ban is in place — even if it means just a few conspicuous Public Works signs at perhaps Five Corners, in the downtown, and at the town lines.
Issuing tickets for parking violations when there's no posting of the parking rules reeks as a game of "Gotcha."
That's not a game any town should play with either its residents or its guests.
