A Sad Parking Story

Man's inhumanity to man. Or something like that. This sad incident was reported on the Brookland listserv. It's always best to talk to your neighbors about something that bothers you than to call the city and tattle.

I recently returned home from a business trip out of the country to find my pick-up truck towed. When I called the city to find out why, it turns out that it was called in by some neighbors who said that it was an abandoned vehicle. I've lived here seven years and that truck is always parked on the street. I realize it's not the best looking truck on the road but still....I now get to spend my day at the DMV on a snowy Friday. I would have been happy to move it if someone had just mentioned it to me. What a disappointment and bummer.

Mr. Kafka and Parking in DC

Getting a parking ticket in DC is usually considered an unpleasant experience, even when you deserve it. Parking in DC is among the most tweeted about subjects when it comes to living in the District of Columbia. (And 'fess up: When we're angry about a parking ticket, that anger often comes about because we know that we earned the ticket. We're just mad that we got caught.) In the olden days, disputing a parking ticket meant taking off a good chunk of the day to dispute the ticket in person.

Now you can dispute a parking ticket online, in your pajamas while having your morning coffee. But just because there's a computer between you and the human at the Department of Motor Vehicles who looks at the data you submit, doesn't make the system perfect. Nor does it mean that the result of your dispute will make any sense. Here's what happened to on DC resident, as reported on the Tenleytown listserv.

I don't mind paying a ticket when I'm wrong, but what happened this week really burns me.

A few nights ago I got a ticket for parking at an expired meter. The sign said it was okay to park after 6:30. I got the ticket at 7:30.

I went to the DMV website, created an account on the adjudication page and contested the ticket - explaining what the sign said and sending pictures of the sign, the meter and the street. On Friday I got an email saying a decision had been made on my case. I logged into the website and there was one line: "Decision: Liable for ticket." So I paid the ticket.

Three days later I got a letter in the mail from DMV listing the facts that I supposedly submitted to them when I contested the ticket. But the facts in their letter were not the facts I submitted.

The letter said, "The respondent reported that the meter was not operating properly because it displayed the word 'fail.'" In fact, I reported that the sign said it was legal to park after 6:30 (along with photographs of said sign and of the meter and of the street).

So they said I was guilty without explaining why and then after I paid the ticket, they sent me a letter explaining why they'd found me guilty. If I'd had that wording before I paid the ticket, I wouldn't have paid the ticket.

And it gets better. I just got the information on how to appeal the appeal. To appeal a $25 ticket, it costs $60.

ROSA, RPP, Guest Passes: It's Complicated (Part II)

This article is a continuation of yesterday's discussion of the conflicts between the ROSA, Reciprocity, and RPP Guest Pass parking programs.  If you missed yesterday's article (which explains all the acronyms), it's here.

Can a guest of a DC resident park legally on a street zoned for RPP (Residential Permit Parking) more than once in a 30-day period? William Howland, Director of the Department of Public Works, says no, and says that anyone who does so may be slapped with a $100 ticket. But according to former ANC 3-C Commissioner Richard Rothblum, Howland is misreading the law.

DC Parking Meters Go Solar

I guess it's progress when DC improves its parking meters. Much as we mutter bad words under our breath about parking in the District of Columbia, the following is also true:

1. We hate broken meters because they make us wonder, "Will I get a ticket anyway?"
2. We hate people who park at broken meters all day because they take away a space we might have parked in. (Partially contradicts item #1 above, but nobody ever said parking invoked rational thought.)
3. Parking is as bad or worse in other cities.

Here's the news: The DC Department of Transportation has begun installing 1,150 new solar-powered, single-space meters that accept credit cards as well as coins.

According to DDOT's director, Gabe Klein, "The new meters are also a piece of a comprehensive Intelligent Transportation System architecture that that will tie together all of our assets with adaptive controls that change dynamically, and provide real time information to the public, and DDOT. From our signal system, to the Circulator Bus, to the parking system, all proactively communicating.  Did we mention no more quarters?”

The Eternal Illegally Parked Car

There's an illegally parked car in Georgetown that simply won't go. The story behind this car gives some insight into why illegally parked cars sometimes are just unmovable objects. This story was reported on the Georgetown listserv.

The truck has now been parked in front of our house, illegally, for at least 7 days. Unresolved...

Last Sunday we noticed a truck (expired Maryland license plates) was parked in front of our house at 1685 34th Street, NW, between R Street and Reservoir Road (not sure if it was there earlier on the weekend or not). On Wednesday it was still there. Here were my steps to try to get someone to attend to it.

Wednesday, 29 September: Phoned 2nd precinct asking how to report an illegally parked truck in front of my house. The officer (did not ask his name, unfortunately) told me they did not deal with illegally parked cars and I'd have to call DMV. He gave me the telephone number at DMV.