So today I get dressed for work and go downstairs (I live at the Carling), get into the parking garage and realize its cold, so I go ahead and drive around, put the car in the loading zone at 31 W. Adams, turn my hazard lights on, and run upstairs to get a coat. I returned approx. 2 minutes later to find a parking citation on my windshield, reason?
"FREIGHT LOADING ZONE-NO PERMIT OR LOGOS"
One may ask, how are you supposed to, as a resident of the Carling, move in/out of the building with your personal vehicle? Apparently, according to parking enforcement, loading/unloading in the loading/unloading zone, with hazard lights on, in a personal auto, is illegal. This is nuts. I was gone for TWO minutes, no more.
I called Parking Enforcement and went to 231 E. Forsyth and got them to waive the ticket, thank god. But if anyone ever sees officer "Geddies", feel free to give him a piece of your mind.
Parking in this city really needs to be revamped.
was there no meter open for you to park and pay, or did you just decide that you're cute enough to get away with it? ;) let's do the math: (you live at the Carling, so you make above min. wage, let's just say 20/hr.) You call Parking Enforcment, let's say that took 10 minutes for you to get the response to come down. You drive, probably in a terrible mood and shouldn't be around people today, but you're cute so why not, you drive/walk--you probably walked down, passing into the building waiting the queue, and got your waiver. My guess, an hour? So, that .25 cost you $20., heart ache, pain and suffering. I suppose you'll continue to park in the loading zone you can afford it. ;)
There was no meters open, and how do you know that I wasnt just, for example, moving a new piece of furniture into my apartment? I mean, what am I supposed to do everytime I need to move something in and out, buy a meter?
Thats ludacris.
It is ludacris. Trust me I know this first hand. You can't win down there. You get to pay and pay and pay. If you're lucky, you'll move before your building floods and falls into the St. Johns River. All kidding aside, where I live we have a residence 5 minute parking spot for off loading your new purchases and the like. I'd love it for you if you could get one of those spots but then that would take away from all that revenue needed by dvi to decorate downtown during the holidays.
Your posts are actually quite funny.. lol.. had me laughing.
The point is that the loading zone is there for loading/unloading.. I was loading my coat into my car and it took me 2 minutes!
;D
Damn Downtown.
I feel ya. I watched in horror as my friend got ticket after ticket just for loading and unloading his car with the daily supplies for the kitchen he managed. In the end, it was a cost of doing business he figured. The fact remains; having a residence 5 minute parking would be nice in your Next living accommodations. You should point that out to the Carling as you receive your tickets while you're loading your u-Hall on your way out.
This is something that wouldn't happen in any other part of town. I don't understand why the most deserted neighborhood in the city has the most parking enforcement.
It's that age old adage "that victory does not go to the swift or the perfect, but those with a determination to win." To parking enforcement it's war, that's their game and they want to win.
Your flashers were the open invitation for them. They saw you a mile away. ;)
But isnt that what you do when youre loading and unloading... put the flashers on?
Yeah, if you want a ticket...
You should have gone stealth mode Detroit, in fact, if you put a big rig out there, the wouldn't have even given it a second look. Welcome to Jacksonville. We dropped a 40' container in front of our place without a permit and it was as if it wasn't even there. ;D
Parking legally with your flashers on would be an interesting experiment. I bet it would attract parking enforcement's attention and they would be very confused about what to write a ticket for.
Quote from: Lunican on January 16, 2008, 05:46:51 PM
Parking legally with your flashers on would be an interesting experiment. I bet it would attract parking enforcement's attention and they would be very confused about what to write a ticket for.
Public indecency? :D
Just tape a sign to the inside of your winsheild that says "Smile, you're on Candid Camera!" Maybe they'll think twice about writing unnecessary tickets....
So I guess I need to have some big magnets made up that say UNITED VAN LINES or something along those lines to slap on the doors of my Volvo next time I decide to use the loading zone? Since according to the ticket, you need a permit to use those zones, or "LOGOS".
Where does one get this permit, and what constitutes a "logo"?
Here you go. Use this logo. The parking enforcement people should be able to identify with this.
Medallions or permit stickers are available from City Licence Department. All kidding aside, the City be it Jacksonville, Los Angeles or most anyplace in between that has paid parking, issues permits for express trucking such as UPS, FEDEX etc... also for Taxi's, commuter vans, van pools etc... They are called many things, Badges, plaques, Permits, medallions, as well as colorful things like (I#QY$R and #Q*OYTQ and $!*&!&$ !!!
In theory the idea isn't that bad. Paid parking encourages transit use. It discourages private vehicles. Medallions allow the city some control, and drivers that abuse the licence, can lose the use of it. This keeps bosses at UPS or Taxi services on top of their drivers and make sure they are professionals.
The sad part of the math is that it has also killed storefront retail, entire downtowns have died, and the parking revenue is a tax, once installed is nearly impossible to pull out. Congestion pricing, in use in London and New York has some promise, but application here would be limited. For example we could go to free parking in the City garages that link to the Skyway, Streetcars, Commuter Rail, Trolley Bus Shuttles or, BRT or Community Buses. This would fill seats and get cars off the downtown streets. We could keep parking around the Landing, Modis, BOA, and ramp UP the charges at those locations.
Working with large employers and small retailers we could balance the City, convert to mass transit, and rebuild our retail core... But can they figure this out at Parking Central??? Too disconnected from Transit, which is really not transit but Highway Department, so we all get screwed. Sad.
Ocklawaha
Gee, if you were a cop (JSO) not only would you have one of those "medallions Ocklawaha mentions, but you'd wouldn't even need to park in the loading zone if was occuppied, hell double park, or just pull up on the curb--it's what "they" do 4 real.
Who wants to pool funds.. we can buy one of those parking boots and go around "booting" the parking enforcement Lumina and nazi safari camera van.... Then hide with a camera.. Imagine their reaction.
Priceless.
Yes. No--we can't do that. There are cameras all over downtown. You'd be picked up faster then your car was ticketed the other day. My guess, felony distruction of city property. Bad ju-ju. You'd get off it of course, with about a $500 fine and probably a year to 18 months probation--Not That I Would Know ANY Thing About that. ;)
PS Just today, a cop parked right in front of starbucks on the main street--just right there....lights on, ran in, got his coffee, my jaw was dropped completely as I eyed him all along. Just today I sware.
Im watching this A&E TV Show "Parking Wars"... They should have set this in Jacksonville instead of Philadelphia.
I guess we wouldnt want to shine light on the illegal tickets they write.
Randi Saunders....I have a lesson for you from kindergarten...
NO ONE LIKES A TATTLE-TALE!!!
I need a job at the city so I can park wherever I want without getting ticketed. ;D
Do these people really have nothing better to do than worry about a parking spot being taken?? I need a job there!!!!! ;)
Don't you Boomtown types have a cat to skin in Chris Van Horn? Surely locked up equipment has no real cost associated with it. All the lawyers taken?
Are we a little bored to be picking on assistants who are only doing what they are told?
Get a job with the city, or date/marry a city employee--those guys never get tickets.