Recently, the Instigator has noticed a disturbing downtown trend: pig parkers. That's right, pig parkers. People who are too lazy, too entitled or too myopic to park their car within the confines of just one clearly marked parking space.

This is a touchy subject. A car you see parked over two spots is not neccesarily the culprit; perhaps they were forced to straddle the line by a previous pig parker's domino effect. So I'm not instigating a torches-and-pitchforks situation here.

Regardless, it is a problem. Pig parkers flaunt the law whenever it behooves them, blind to city ordinance 18. Parking manager David Florence reports that five citations were issued in July and three in August for parking over two spots (although sadly, at $10 it's the cheapest parking ticket in town). So, the parking enforcers are aware of this problem, but it still persists.

Perhaps at this point you're wondering "Who does the pig parker really hurt?" Well, this is no victimless crime. I'm sure Concord's downtown businesses would benefit from having more open spaces for customers to park in. Why, when you park in two spots, you're basically choking the life out of Main Street merchants. Is that what you want? What did they ever do to you?

Really, the onus is on Concord's drivers to stay within the lines. We learned it in preschool, why don't we apply it on the road? Don't be a pig parker.