According to Chicago Sun Times Reporter Mary Mitchell:
Under the current policy, “Vehicles are eligible for a boot if a registered owner accrues three or more unpaid parking, red-light and/or automated speed enforcement tickets that reach final determination status or accrues two unpaid parking, red-light and/or automated speed enforcement tickets in final-determination status older than one year.”
That’s a pretty tough policy.
So let’s see – A person is unable to deal with a parking ticket, so they ignore it. Then they get another one, and then a third, ignoring them all. They can’t go to the Parking Bureau, or call them or write them and request a way to pay off the ticket, they just ignore them.
Or they get two tickets and ignore them for a year.
So why have parking tickets at all?
I agree that there are cases where the fines can be onerous. My suggestion has been that the city could set up ‘parking school’ like traffic school. Have it scheduled so it is convenient. People could get their parking tickets absolved if that attend ‘parking school.’ Make it a hour or two, and stress why we have parking rules, review all signage and markings, and let them leave with a new understanding of parking.
If people are treated like adults, who knows, maybe they will act like adults.
JVH
3 Responses
A parking school? Seriously!!!
Marc:
The parking industry does a terrible job of communicating with our customers. People who park have no idea why there are certain laws, regulations, or why citations are written. They know nothing about preserving the parking values in neighborhoods or shopping areas. They have no clue as to how parking rates are set, or why they differ from place to place. Our national organizations have completely ignored our customers. Don Shoup has done a better job of communicating to our customers, and he may or may not be communicating the right story.
A Parking School? Yes, Seriously
JVH
I remember a hundred years ago when I was looking at wheel clamping (booting) in London. Spoke to someone in Boston who rather gleefully told me that if you got three tickets there you were a legitimate target for their booting programme. They told me that as soon as the payment period for the third ticket expired you went on the list you went on the list but it could take “up to a month” to get taken off after you paid! Nasty!
On parking schools, I remember David Hill from Canada telling me how he introduced a “Everything that you needed to know about the parking rules” pamphlet in his City. If you appealed a parking ticket you were given, and had to sign for a copy of the pamphlet, after which the ticket was cancelled. No further tickets would ever be cancelled as you had signed up to say that you knew the rules.