The city of Milwaukee has a bit of a problem. Seems they have some vacant lots owned by the city that are located near major attractions (the symphony, arts, center, etc). They don’t want anyone parking on those lots.
Local entrepreneurs are setting up business on the lots, using legit looking uniforms and even “traffic direction” flashlights to direct folks into the lots. They collect $10 a head and then leave when the lot is full.
The city then comes by and tickets the cars in the lots since they are parking illegally. Makes perfect sense, doesn’t it. OK – the city voided the tickets after they found out about the scam.
My comments
- Where were the police (ostensibly parked a block away) and why didn’t they question the practice? (Not my job, man)
- The parking enforcement folks ticketed a group of cars at 3 PM (matinee concert) and a second group at 8 PM (evening concert). Didn’t anyone realize there was a problem here?
- Why not simply lease out the lots for periods of time that the spaces are needed (during concerts, etc) and let the practice proceed?
- If private (if illegal) enterprise can make parking word in the area, why can’t the city?
- They voided 135 tickets on that day – that’s $1350 that the group collected. Seems like that’s a business the city would want a piece of.
- OK, I understand all the problems with insurance, liability, etc etc etc. But most of that is handled with a couple of signs, isn’t it. So in the end the profit goes from $1350 to $1000 (not counting the attendants.)_
- The attendants must have been pretty good, since they not only collected the money, but directed the people to certain spots and made sure the cars were parked neatly. They probably figured that the neater the parking, the more they could fit in
Hat Tip: Jim Johnson
JVH
4 Responses
This scam has been run in many cities over the years. Seems to me I remember cars being towed from concerts in Chicago. That said when did this happen in Milwaukee? (I didn’t hear about it)
Sunday, December 14 was the date on the story
The City can’t rent out the lots–They are owned by the county. The county can’t use the lots for parking because they aren’t paved, and the City has rules about cars can only parked on paved lots.
I’m still not sure the City should have released the citation, as there were numerous signs posted at the curbs cuts that state “No Parking At Any Time”. I wouldn’t have parked my car in lot that said I could not park there, and I certainly wouldn’t have parked in those muddy lots. The City has a garage across the street from this lot. I’m sure they wouldn’t charge more than 10 dollars, and I would not have to deal with muddy tires.
Oh come on, Jennifer — rules are made to be changed. If they made these lots available for parking, perhaps there would be money to pave them. I agree that the structures across the streets are “available” but many prefer not to park in dark, dirty parking structures.
From where I come from, admittedly sunny, snowy southern California, tires are made to be dirty.
JVH