John Rebchook is a former Rocky Mountain News reporter with more than 30 years of experience in writing and communications... City Hall won.
Penny Parker, the Denver Postcolumnist, invited me to a farewell party for our former Rocky Mountain News colleague, Gargi Chakrabarty, who is moving to Boston. I thanked my lucky stars when I found a parking space on 14th Street in front of the showroom for the Four Seasons Private Residences under construction, as the spot was minutes from the soiree being held at the new primebar restaurant.
Not so lucky, as it turned out.
When I came back to the car, I found I had a ticket. But not for an expired meter, but for taking up more than one space.
Here is what I wrote to Denver’s Parking Violations Bureau on May 28, 2009.
“When I first saw the ticket, I thought it was a mistake, as I still had time on the meter. When I got home and read the ticket, I was surprised to find that my violation was for “improper use meter.” The officer, on the ticket, went on to write that I had parked my vehicle in two spaces, and the meter pole was aligned with the dashboard.
The fact was I had parallel-parked my car between the only available space between two other cars. It was not as if some giant space were available and I had parked in the middle.
If, indeed, the car behind was parked too far forward, or the car in front of my car was parked too far back, I should not be penalized. Any reasonable person would have looked at the space created by the cars in front of and in back of where I had parked my car and assumed it was a legitimate space.
It is unreasonable to expect a person to realize that the space created by the cars in front and in back of me was actually two parking space. When I parked my vehicle, there were only a couple of inches between my car and the two other cars. If there had been a foot of empty space between the other two cars, for example, I could see a valid assumption that I should have been aware I was taking two spaces. However, the space I parked in was relatively tight.”
Does this encourage people to go downtown?
I went on to say that I think it doesn’t make business sense to ticket people for obscure violations. To quote myself again:
“I would argue it is not only unreasonable, but it is bad public policy to ticket a car for an infraction such as this one. During these recessionary times, public servants should not be looking for unreasonable, unfair and capricious ways to ticket people. That will only convince people not to make the effort to come downtown, park, and spend money in stores and restaurants.”
Today, I received a letter from the city saying it had reviewed my letter and “it’s been determined that the citation(s) listed are your responsibility. Therefore, immediate payment is due.”
I paid my $25. I didn’t want to end up like Ricardo Baca at the Denver Post, who was arrested for an unpaid ticket.
Contact John Rebchook at JRCHOOK@gmail.com.
