A reader sends:
“This guy parks here a lot. On John McCormack Dr. just north of Michigan Ave, right in front of Catholic U Metro. As you can see, when he/she is parked there (sitting in the car, btw, blatant “No Parking” on that whole side of the street) it is impossible for traffic to get through in both directions. It was all backed up behind me onto Michigan.”
Photo by PoPville flickr user BrennaLM
“Dear PoPville,
For two nights in a row, I’ve received a parking ticket for $50 while parked in front of my house for being parked less than 25 feet from a stop sign. (Mind you, these tickets are being issued at 3:00 am on a highly residential street in Truxton Circle where parking is only a problem on Sundays). A tow was requested. Both times I was parked within the white boxes which I assumed designate legal parking areas. Since my only parking option is street parking, I contacted DPW to get them to tell me how I could park “legally” so I can avoid getting the same ticket tonight. According to the woman on the phone, the white boxes were not painted by DPW (???) and mean nothing. One must be 25 feet from the stop sign even if the white box is painted closer. Is this real? 25 feet is quite a large distance and, being a life long DC resident, I would venture to suggest that cars on almost every street in the city could be ticketed for that same offense while being parked within the white boxes.
The woman further suggested that the only way I could get an additional explanation would be to adjudicate the tickets, but having gone through that process several times before (with mixed results), I can positively state that decisions are given without explanations.
As a side note, I also question why there is an officer ticketing my car at 3:00am for this type of offense on a residential street where parking is not an issue (note this is the 4th ticket we’ve gotten at similar hours from the same officer). Not exactly the best use of my taxpayer dollars, but perhaps that is the subject of another email.
Any advice you can give me would be greatly appreciated.”
From USA Today:
“Indianapolis Colts linebacker D’Qwell Lamar “Jackson, 31, was driving alone at 8 p.m. on the 1900 block of 12 Street N.W., a retail area in the downtown area, when he and another man got into an argument over a [parking] space, said Metropolitan Police spokesman officer Araz Alali. The altercation became physical when Jackson hit the man in the head, Alali said.”
Photo by PoPville flickr user BrennaLM
“Dear PoPville,
DC Parking Enforcement — Two citations, same infraction, less than 1 hour?
I’m curious if someone can enlighten me as to the law/policy on this; I parked at a meter (which, admittedly, I read the fine print incorrectly and did not feed it–not denying that I’m at fault for one of the citations), and I received two citations for the expired meter within a less than one hour period.
The kicker is that I only found one citation on my windshield, and I didn’t learn about the second ticket until I logged online to pay the first one.. I’ve contested the second ticket, but anyone have any experience as to whether or not I’ll be on the hook for it? The meter maid incorrectly recorded my location as well (first ticket, on the 1200 block; second on the 1300 block–my car didn’t move).
Any input appreciated.”
Photo by PoPville flickr user Erin
“Dear PoPville,
I have several friends who have recently received tickets from the city that strike me as utterly onerous. The gist of it is that the city has observed their cars parked in DC frequently during non-work hours, and they suspect them of being residents of the district while keeping their cars registered elsewhere. The ticketed person’s only recourse to avoid repeated ticketing and ultimately a boot is to report to DC DMV during business hours to prove that they our residents of another state! There are soooo many legitimate reasons why out-of-state residents are in the district regularly off hours. One of them was my boyfriend. Yeah, he slept over. Pretty regularly. Others are pals of mine with a healthy social life who come visit all the time. Sometimes they crash, because hey, it’s better than driving drunk, right? One of them works all the way out in Warrenton during the day, and taking time off to come all the way to DC to “prove” he doesn’t live here was no small burden. Worse yet? The DMV didn’t even accept his first attempt. Apparently, a current electric bill and lease were not adequate???
It just seems like a shakedown, and they’ve got folks over a barrel. It’s practically mafia behavior. Any thoughts on this? Ways to get the city to stop harassing my friends and visitors? The city should be happy that these folks are spending their hard-earned money here in the district without consuming any of our services!”
“Dear PoPville,
On November 3rd, I got a ticket for parking illegally during street cleaning. Yes, November 3rd — after street cleaning was supposedly over on October 31. It was so odd that a very kind neighbor left a note on my car reminding me not to pay the ticket. So I contested the ticket on the grounds that street cleaning ends on October 31 but didn’t step out to take a picture of the sign because I figured all the signs across the city say the same thing and if the hearing examiner has ever parked in DC he or she would recognize the error.
I was wrong. Today I received a letter stating that my evidence is insufficient and I am liable for the ticket. Has anyone else encountered this? What kind of evidence can I produce that’s more substantive than their own website: http://dpw.dc.gov/page/street-and-alley-cleaning ? Are there other street cleaning dates that I’m unaware of and supersede the one that’s posted?”
“Dear PoPville,
The entrance at the economy parking lot at DCA closed off with the sign reading the lot’s full. [Tuesday 2pm] I’d guess there are around 40 or so spots left in the back lot. Drivers are being told spots are available in the daily garage (+$10).”
Photo by PoPville flickr user philliefan99
“Dear PoPville,
A little more than a month ago my parking and towing saga was profiled on PoPville. My car was wrongfully ticketed, then towed and stored by a private towing firm at the request of a contractor who apparently wasn’t satisfied with blocking off 60 feet of street parking – significantly more than the 20 foot roll-off dumpster he was authorized for.
I documented the abuse, complete with photos and measurements and got the $100 ticket dismissed in parking ticket court, which felt like the road to redemption was opening up before me.
Next, I filed a complaint with the DC Office of Risk Management, detailing the $220 in towing and storage fees I incurred after receiving a parking ticket that the city had subsequently dismissed, which was roundly rejected.
But thanks to advice from a PoPville poster, I found perhaps the one person in the DC gov’t capable of comprehending the disconnect between public action (faulty ticket issuance) and private fee acquisition, and the crevice that city residents fall into when the initiating event – the parking ticket – is found to have occurred in error.
And just yesterday the towing company hand delivered a refund check for $220.
No small claims court. No legal fees. No headaches. It pays to pursue grievances based on principle, no matter the sum in question.
Basically, this staffer oversees the city’s private towing contractors, and those contracts are more valuable to them than any one disputed ticket. Many thanks to popvart, who provided the essential guidance below.
popvart November 12, 2014 at 4:58 pm
I was faced with (and resolved) a nearly identical situation. First lesson: every relevant part of DC government is clueless and acts like this situation it is more rare than a talking unicorn. Second lesson: you must set aside all notions of fairness and law. Third lesson: litigation or threats of litigation should be a last resort. I contacted my city council member and Daniel Scott (who manages all things towing at DPW, including private tow companies). He has no authority to compel a towing company to return your money for towing fess from a dismissed ticket, but he did help convince the tower to give me back my money. Although adjudication services should reimburse you for towing fees related to a dismissed ticket (it is their fault after all) I’m pretty sure that would never happen (you can’t get blood from a stoned idiot). In your case, you might start with your city council member and Daniel Scott, and hopefully they will support your polite request to the contractor.”
Thanks to @davebergman for tweeting us:
“A beautiful parking job in capitol hill #notquiteparallelparking @popville”
“Dear PoPville,
See subject car in frame. When I arrived last night I had to squeeze in between 2 SUVs, now during the day they’re gone and it looks like I poorly parked (never mind that it’s midday and half the block is empty anyway). These people with entirely too much free time and concern over how other people park are really getting tiresome. Maybe a PSA to assume we all know what the hell we’re doing and unless you legitimately OBSERVED someone as they were parking you keep your hands off their car.”