OK - how about the 20 foot law?

[an-art-worker.livejournal.com]

Since parking laws are under discussion I would like to bring up the 20 ft law (= illegal to park within 20 feet of an intersection). I got a ticket last month on my street for this, in a spot where I and other residents have parked for years. The ticket said I was 8 feet from the intersection. I appealed it by mail and sent photos and got a notice yesterday that my appeal was denied. (fwiw - this is a one way street, off of a one way street and in my humble opinion, there was ample clearance for pedestrians and emergency vehicles).

Ok - so I will pay the $30. ticket- but the thing is, it seems like selective/arbitrary enforcement. Even more, there are numerous spots in this neighborhood where, if this 20 ft law were enforced routinely, would not be legal spots at all- yet folks park in those spots all the time.

Trivial I agree but it seems more about $$$ ("revenue enhancement") than anything else. Also, rather than leaving it to a judgment call by someone tryng to park or the parking enforcement person, there should be clear markings on the curb at the 20 ft mark.

Photo behind the cut. Am I guilty or not? ;-)


 

Comments

Re: Parking Passions

[buckturgidsen.livejournal.com]

Thanks Tom this is all great info. I had to google 'pilpul' and now have a great new word in the vocabulary. :) The one thing I would still say (and I know this isn't a formal suggestion box for the T&P department): when there are selectively-enforced laws like this one the T&P dept should make a big effort to make sure that enforcement is consistent and (where possible) sensible. We're adaptive creatures and where there are grey areas in the law (like regulations that are broadly unenforced) we learn the ropes through a combination of common sense and imitating what everyone else is doing. My own observation is that there are cars all over town parked <10 feet from intersections (go to Google maps and enable "street view" and take a tour through town if you don't believe me) and it's pretty rare to see tickets on these cars. I'm not talking about cars obnoxiously parked in crosswalks or two feet from intersections, I am talking about cars who look perfectly reasonably parked even after factoring in the turning radius of fire trucks. Which is why it was weird to suddenly get a ticket for being 13 feet from a cul-de-sac. It would be like driving on the highway and getting a speeding ticket for doing 57mph while other cars are doing 65 -- it's a nuisance for the driver and seems to serve no particular purpose.