In an unforgettable show of devotion to peripheral homeowner property, Ballard resident Tom Watkins has stood constant vigil at the unmarked curbside parking space in front of his house for the last two hundred days.
Watkins — hellbent on keeping the space empty for visitors or for himself in a pinch — keeps his watchful eye fixed for encroaching vehicles.
“I’m just making sure this unmarked public space retains its honor as part of this neighborhood while guarding the sanctity of single-family home life,” said Watkins. “Those renters down the street wouldn’t understand.”
Watkins does not hesitate to use the full force of the law: In the last two weeks alone, he has reported four cars to Seattle Parking Enforcement as abandoned, successfully getting his neighbors’ vehicles towed.
“His devotion to this neighborhood always amazes me,” said Tiffany Wenkle, the block’s leading Nextdoor poster. “Most people say they have too much going on in their lives to really protect these public spaces the way he does, but not Watkins: Neighborhood. Hero.”
Watkins bashfully batted away Wenkle’s compliment.
“I’m no hero,” he said. “I just can’t have all these Tauruses, Priuses and other clunkers parking in front of my place when I’ve got a trunk full of potatoes I need to get inside.”
