parking citations to get more expensive

[hammercock.livejournal.com]

Wanna park illegally? You gotta pay more

Read the Somerville Journal article for the full scoop, but the salient details, as of Monday:

• The penalty for parking in the path of a street sweeper increased from $25 to $30


• On Aug. 12, the fines for street-sweeping violations will increase from $30 to $50


• Parking meter violation fines also increased from $15 to $20


• Parking in a bus stop will earn a $25 fine instead of $20.


• Handicapped parking violations will double from $100 to $200


• The distance residents must park their cars from street corners has increased from a minimum of 10 feet to minimum of 12 feet from a street corner, and the fine for violating the minimum distance from a street corner also increased from $20 to $30


• On Aug. 12, the fines for violating snow emergency parking rules will double from $50 to $100


• Fines for permit parking violations will also increase from $30 to $40


• Fines for parking within 10 feet of a fire hydrant, parking in a crosswalk or obstructing fire lanes will also go up from $30 to $50

*boggle* Those are pretty huge increases, all taken together. I'd really like to know what the "must park at least 12 feet from a street corner" thing is all about. Why is 10 feet not good enough anymore?

If I ever move from my current place, I'm not going to any house that doesn't have a driveway I can use. Jesus.

Comments

[aslant.livejournal.com]

weird. my boyfriend has a car with out-of-state plates (for the last two years) and he can definitely pay the tickets without registering. who told you that? that can't be right.

[aslant.livejournal.com]

are you talking about paying the tickets or making an appeal? to pay the tickets we've both sent checks by mail, or you can enter a ticket number into the somerville city website, and it will call up all other tickets belonging to the car and you can pay online (you don't have to pay them all at once).

that doesn't sound right about the registration, because otherwise any out of state driver wouldn't be able to appeal a ticket. what if it was an out-of-state plate but the person wasn't a resident? they can't ask them to register if they're not a state resident, just in order to go to court and plead their case.

i wonder if she was just stalling you? the law about registering your car after 1 year of MA residency is an easy one to remember, maybe she was just lazy and fixated on that part of the problem.

[simply-juniper.livejournal.com]

*blink* What a totally lame thing to say, and to have to go through. That's why I always ask "Can I speak to your manager?" I know, I know, it's tough but you've got to be. Don't just take the information you're given, especially when it doesn't seem to make sense. :)

What area of the city are you parking?

[simply-juniper.livejournal.com]

I can understand being upset at the time, I would be too. Just give them a call back. Maybe you'll get someone else on the phone which in my experience usually means a different answer. If you don't get the one you want, just speak to a manager.

No wonder! You poor thing. :( That's a high traffic street as far as I can tell. Grr to the ticket people.

[abilouise.livejournal.com]

I think there is a statute of limitations on using a visitor pass for the same car, like you can't use it for more than a few days in a row or something...

[simply-juniper.livejournal.com]

Well sure but to be told you can't fight a ticket because you're not registered in the state? That's ridiculous. Sounds to me like some of the tickets she received were bogus.

[canongrrl.livejournal.com]

actually madison street was under construction, so if you were near there, that could be it.