A fine mess unfolds in Hub

It’s official: As of next week, motorists will be punished for the audacious act of daring to park on the streets of Boston. True, the fines levied on drivers will only apply to those who violate the rules, but Boston is a city where one cannot function in a practical manner without occasionally breaking some parking regulations.

City Hall is well aware of that.

As the Herald’s Dan Atkinson reported, parking meter violations will increase from $25 to $40.

Resident parking violations will jump from $40 to $60, and no-parking tickets from $55 to $90.

Street sweeping violations will cost more as well, more than doubling from $40 to $90.

Tickets for double parking in downtown neighborhoods will increase from $45 to $55, while double parking tickets elsewhere in the city will rise from $30 to $35.

The consequences of this cash-grab will be that people will avoid doing business and enjoying leisure activities in the Hub as much as they possibly can.

For families with small children, it is often not ideal to brave the T to visit the aquarium. Loading the kids in the minivan and hunting for parking nearby makes more sense. With the threat of having to shell out an extra $40 or more in parking tickets after braving the nonsensical street layout of Boston, it’s just more logical to travel worry-free to Assembly Row in Somerville.

Say goodbye to $90 in aquarium tickets to see the penguins, $100 for lunch at Faneuil Hall and $20 for a squirt gun that shoots bubbles (which will be broken by the end of the day).

But at least City Hall gets their take.

No thanks. At least Somerville is also a sanctuary city for parking.