Dear PoPville – Parking Enforcement Ticketing Based on a Bogus Parking Sign

“Dear PoPville,

ou would think that this car is legally parked, on the correct side of the signpost indicating no parking (and no standing) between it and the stop sign. I’m sure the driver thought he was doing the right thing. Okay, so it’s extending a bit beyond the signpost, but he’s certainly not obscuring the visibility of the stop sign, which is the purpose of the 25-foot minimum distance requirement (DC Municipal Regulations 18, 2405.2(d)).

Oh, but take a closer look at that sign. Yes, it’s supposed to indicate no parking to its left, and neighbors tell me that’s what it’s been, until lately. Now a new arrow has been crudely added, indicating no parking in both directions.

Talk about a trap for the unwary! Drivers may not notice the added arrowhead, but Parking Enforcement has found it, and is happily inflicting $50 tickets on cars parked on what was the legal side of that signpost. Yes, it’s a stiff $50 fine, because of that “no standing” provision, which suggests that this quiet location — Kilbourne Place, a three-block-long residential street in Mount Pleasant — is a busy arterial, and anyone violating that parking ban is creating a serious safety hazard.

Where did that spurious arrowhead come from? Who put it there? Why does Parking Enforcement accept such an artificially modified sign as legitimate? We have enough parking problems without such costly “gotcha” traps being set.”