Parking tix for street sweeping--date change

[pakoo.livejournal.com]

Just in case you park right under a Somerville street sweeping sign that says the season ends on Dec 1st, please be advised that you will still be slapped with a $50 ticket.   I left my car on the street last night (4th) directly next to a sign with a 12/1 date on it and got a ticket.  When I called parking, they said, "Oh yeah, this year it's December 31st, not the 1st."  Umm, okay, how about changing signs to reflect that??
Just a heads up so you don't go through the same aggravation.......

Comments

[smacaski.livejournal.com]

I suggest taking a picture of the sign and taking it to traffic court (if you plan on contesting the ticket).

[pakoo.livejournal.com]

I did that, thank you.

[rose_garden.livejournal.com]

Owning a car sounds very complicated.

[pakoo.livejournal.com]

It's actually pretty easy. It's the dealing with the over-zealous Somerville Parking Dept that's a pain in the ass.

[anyee.livejournal.com]

Translation: I'm a smug fuck who doesn't need a car because I bike and T. Look at me, I'm eco friendly, and you suck.

[dougo.livejournal.com]

When they changed the date a few years ago, I remember seeing stickers on parking signs with the new date. Maybe some of the stickers have fallen off by now?

[42itous.livejournal.com]

Um, yeah. If the officially-correct date wasn't posted, then you should not have to pay the ticket. It sucks that it's a pain in the ass to contest it, but imho the parking officials should not get away with this sort of thing, so I hope you will contest it.

[pakoo.livejournal.com]

Yes, I am. Thanks very much.

[ron_newman]

The date was changed citywide from December 1 to December 31 a few years ago ... but if your sign still says December 1, you have every good reason to appeal the ticket.

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

Is the extension of street cleaning into December a consequence of global warming?

[rozasharn.livejournal.com]

That's what they said in the original announcement.

[gruene.livejournal.com]

It's been Dec 31st for several years now. You're just figuring this out now?

[pakoo.livejournal.com]

Yes. I am. Did you log on just to make a snarky remark? Because it kind of stands out among all the helpful suggestions.

Even though I have lived here my entire life and have traveled these streets nearly sixty years, I also own two driveways and as such, really don't spend time memorizing the street sweeping schedule. I typically park in the street when I offer my driveway to someone, like I did yesterday when my neighbor had a contractor come for the day. I do this as a favor so my neighbors/friends/contractors don't have to deal with the parking patrol. I checked the sign before I parked, and was stunned when I got a ticket as I thought I had followed the rule. My entire motive for posting yesterday was to hopefully prevent someone else from getting a ticket.

[gruene.livejournal.com]

My apologies for any offense. I strongly agree with the suggestion that you should take a photo of the sign and appeal the citation.

[pywaket.livejournal.com]

I believe the official policy is supposed to be that it's the 31st if there's no marking on the sign, but if the sign *is* marked with another date, then that date is what holds.

So, they're not even following their own policy here. What a surprise....