PT's Parking Blog

Baghdad by the Bay award goes to…

The City of San Francisco is the first current recipient of the latent Bagdad by the Bay award for parking foolishness. The Citation is based on this:

The City allows scofflaws to "work off" their parking fees and fines at a rate of $6 an hour for public works. I'm not sure about this, but what the hell, it is San Francisco. However the city is being sued by one of the participants in the program because the minimum wage in SF is, are you ready, $11.03 for persons working under a city contract.

So the litigants want credit for the addition five and change, and of course want to go back to everyone ever in the program and give them the bucks, too. This is just normal infantile San Francisco hoo haa.

What the story pointed out is this. The two participants they interviewed had a between $600 and $900 in fines a year. One gets about 10 parking tickets a month and the other had accrued $1800 in tickets over a two year period. What's with that?

If regular folks in SF so broadly ignore the parking laws (or are too dumb to figure out how to get around them), (one is a writer and a publicist and the other works as a counselor for a local university) there must be many MANY others who pay a lot of fines, too.

In fact, if you read closer in the story, nearly 3700 people used the program in FY2007 to pay their fines. This assumes that they had substantial fines, and were not working off a $50 billet doux.

What's wrong in San Francisco, or is this true everywhere. Perhaps we should have public flogging, or stocks, or make them wash cars in the central square. Obviously $50 for a parking ticket isn't enough to alter their behavior.

Perhaps we should become very aggressive and "boot" every vehicle from the second ticket on. Charge an arm and a leg to get the boot off. Perhaps then people would think twice before they overstay a meter or park in a red zone.

A zero tolerance approach might be what the parking doctor ordered. Whatcha think?

JVH

Not this again

From my "if you build it they will come" file. Port Huron, MI, is removing parking meters in its downtown business and entertainment district to "remove an impediment to the downtown's revival." That's what they think.

The truth is that most likely those free spaces will be taken by employees of local merchants and people wanting to drive downtown to play will have no place to park. They will then keep right on going to that big mega mall on the outskirts of town.

Now, if the money from the on street parking had been channeled into the "revival" of downtown, my guess is that folks would have flocked to the new, upgraded area and loved to spend their money in tony shops, theaters, restaurants, sidewalk cafes, or simply sit in the park and watch the passing scene. Oh yes, they would have loved to pay to park so they could visit such a wonderful place.

Look at it another way – people pay $15 park to see the Dodgers play, that's more that some tickets. They also pay $12 to park at Disneyland for the right to pay $80 to get in to visit Mickey. The parking charges don't slow them up a bit. Just as free parking doesn't bring people to the mall. It's the stores, theaters, restaurants, bars, and the people scape that bring folks to the mall.

If you build it they will come.

Too bad Port Huron hasn't realized that yet. We'll see an article in a few months about the complaints that there isn't enough parking downtown and they need a new garage. And then when the garage is built and they find no one is parking in it (they charge $2 a hour to park in the garage but its free to park on the street) they will complain that no one is using the garage. Then someone will get the bright idea to charge for parking on street. And reduce the parking costs in the garage. They will then find there is plenty of on street parking and the garage is empty.

Oh and the store front chapels, wig shops, and second hand stores in the area will still complain that there is not enough business downtown.

JVH

Athens, OH – Think people, think…

The city of Athens, OH is musing as to why parking revenues in its garage are down. Is it because of theft (parking meters with keys on the loose) or is it because of a new garage run by the local University that opened nearby? Read all about it here.

The new garage has cheaper rates, uses pay on exit so people can pay for what they use, and has a waiting list for monthly parkers. The old garage has higher rates, uses meters which beget citations, and is not as convenient. PLUS the city loses about $75K a year from meters because someone has been making keys and stealing money out of 780 meters. That's about $100 per meter per year.

One would think that for that kind of money, they could change the locks once in a while.

But I digress…They are actually puzzled as to why the income in the city garage is down. What is the matter with these people?

I have an idea – fix the rates in the city garage, make it more convenient for people to pay, rekey the meters, ensure the system for collecting money is secure, begin a marketing program for monthly parkers (pick up those on the University garage waiting list), and my guess is that all would be right in the Athens Parking World.

Whatcha think?

JVH

Cities charge, suppliers win…

I was reviewing my "yahoo" list of stories about parking issues around the world and one thing again jumped out at me. Just as I commented a few months ago, public entities are looking to parking to increase their income, down due to the depressed values of real estate.

At least one article in four was about either parking rates increasing, fines increasing, parking taxes increasing or cities turning up the heat on scofflaws. There is a reason for this and it's unrelated to parking policy. Cities need money and parking fees, taxes and fines are a way to get it.

In addition to making life more difficult for citizens going about their daily lives and of course making life difficult for the public relations folks dealing with the parking departments, this phenomenon has one bright side. Equipment suppliers are having a heyday.

Companies that supply equipment and systems used to collect fines and fees (this includes pay by cell phone, pay by space/display, meters, revenue control, and companies that provide collection and ticketing services) are in great demand.

Every cloud has a silver lining.

JVH

NYC DOT Tickets Jews on Sabbath

Are these people nuts -- For the few who don't know, Orthodox Jews don't do mechanical things on the Sabbath (use dishwashers, drive cars, use elevators, ring door bells, etc). Its a day of rest, so they rest, fair enough.

So what does the NYC Department of Transportation do, they ticket over 90 cars in the heavily Orthodox Williamsburg section of the city for not moving their cars to the "other side of the street" on the Sabbath.

Of course they are going to void the tickets. Now is the clicker -- Orthodox Jews believe strongly in modesty. Now why are they asking the cars be moved?

They are installing a bike path so Yuppie cyclists in their spandex, short shorts, and halter tops can display themselves to the folks going to temple. Of course the local Rabbis are not happy. Nor should they be.

I'm sure that some very nice people thought the bike path would be great but made one slight error, they didn't ask the people where the bike path was going. Now they have two problems on their hands.

Sigh...Why can't planners and parking folks research, talk, query and notify before they make decisions.

JVH

Gasoline prices

I know, I know -- I'm hammering this home. Gasoline prices and down again, Under $3 a gallon for the first time in a year. I thought these prices were going to blow us out of the water and destroy our economy. I though people couldn't afford houses because they had to fill their car. So what happened?

The market happened. People starting using less fuel, the supply went up, the price went down. The price of oil is a bit more complicated, but it works the same way. A barrel of oil will soon be a third of what it was three months ago. The rising dollar has helped.

Where are all the naysayers?

JVH

When Is a Handicapped Space NOT a Handicapped Space?

I got this from a reader:

I was issued a handicapped parking citation at an employee parking lot in Florida.Yes, there is a handicapped sign at the parking spot. But it is from a building that is no longer there. When the building was taken down they never took the handicapped signs down. Currently this space is 380 feet away from the building entrance. There are also 4 rows of regular parking between the handicapped space and the building entrance. I plan on fighting this citation saying that this is NOT a legal handicapped parking space according to Florida statute 553.5041(b) which states that Each space must be located on the shortest safely accessible route from the parking space to an accessible entrance. Also the ADA accessibility Guidelines 4.6.2 Location states: Accessible parking spaces serving a particular building be located on the shortest accessible route of travel from adjacent parking to an accessible entrance.

Do you think I will win this?

My response, it's pretty lame – maybe someone else has a better one:

One can only try – if the space is illegal, you may have a chance, however since it was marked as "Handicapped" the judge could just rule against you and that will be that  Although the judge may be so impressed with your research that the ticket will be vacated simply on the fact that you seem to know your subject, and the judge may not.

JVH

 

“Drunk Runs on Campus…”

We peruse the C-Park L list from time to time and this little tidbit popped up.

One of the parking and transportation managers for a major university is beginning a late night bus service. She is noting that it will most likely turn into a "drunk run" and was asking if there are any ideas for fine tuning the program to run on a specific schedule or make it an "on call" service.

When discussions like this come up, I always think of "en loco parentis." In place of the parent. Just how much responsibility does a university have in replacing the parenting that ends the moment the folk's car disappears around the corner from the dorm at the beginning of the freshman year? Personally I think that turning almost eighteen year olds loose by themselves with no supervision is looking for disaster. Sure you watched over them every moment while they were in high school, but now, they are on their own with siren calls of parties, beer busts, and good looking young men and women. WOW.

Most schools now have boys and girls (men and women) living on the same floors in the dorms. "Lockout", where if you didn't get back to the dorm by a certain time you were locked out until morning (this gave everyone and excuse to get home) is a thing of the past. And the social pressure of keeping the drunks in a few "well known" frats and the glare of house mothers that could stop a fullback in full gallop are, too, gone with the buggy whip.

Now we are thinking it's a good thing to provide a bus service for drunks. Or the late night bus service just becomes, by definition, a bus service for drunks.

Granted when I was in school Darwin was writing his books and some of the pets were baby T-Rexes but I don't remember the binge drinking and the social disasters we see today. Sure there were parties. But most of them were more legend than fact. Our practical jokes amounted to rerouting Sunset Boulevard through the campus on Friday night or painting Tommy Trojan at USC a nice bright shade of blue and gold. No harm, no foul. There were a group of crazies and the rest of us just made sure that they were "over there" and we were "over here."

You got drunk once, got very sick, and then didn't do it again. Now it seems a way of life.

OK, sermon over – but what is the responsibility of the university? Here's what I think, for what it's worth. Boys and Girls in the dorm should live on separate floors, if not separate wings, if not separate dorms. The opposite sex should be allowed on their floors between 2 and 4 on Sunday, with mucho supervision. Binge drinking should not be tolerated. Period. Hey, by the time you are juniors or above, get a part time job, get a roommate and get an apartment if you don't like the dorm. At least by then you have grown up a bit, and have some guidelines to keep within. Of course you will stray from time to time. But at least you know when you have strayed and where to return after you wise up.

As for the drunk runs, I would run scheduled busses for people who need to ride them. If a drunk gets on and as long as they are civil, so be it. If they create a scene call a cop.

Just sayin…

JVH

New Distributor Group Forms

Got this From Wade…

Distributors across the country merge to create a pool of knowledge and education, creating a new, fresh look on parking

While people enjoyed the NPA show in the vivacious Las Vegas atmosphere, a new group was forming. A group that is different to the parking industry, a group that will promote and inspire new technological growth. With members that have strong IT backgrounds and fresh ideas on parking, this is not your grandfathers union.

Wade Brossow, Protection Tech, Redmond WA, was elected president of the new group, along with Eric Risch, Automated Parking Technologies, Chicago IL, as his Vice President. Liz Young, Innovated Parking Concepts, Woodstock GA will maintain secretarial and treasurer duties.

The main focus of the group will be to share knowledge between them and to find new solutions for the ever-changing needs that are the parking customer. ParkNet.Group will meet twice a year and will invite select vendors to sponsor and share their solutions with the group.

Interested? Contact Wade at Wade@protectiontech.com

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Paying With Pennies…

Your blog is consistently informative and enjoyable - I have feedback on this one.

 I have experienced ticket payments being made in pennies a few times during my career in parking, and have also been told of others that have experienced this phenomena.  Until now, the largest amount I have been aware of was less than $100.

 I suggest that the best approach is to accept the pennies, but require them to be deposited subject to bank verification of the amount, and any counting fees by the bank be the responsibility of the person making payment.  Alternately they may be accepted in rolled form with the wrappers marked with the name of the person paying with them - then there is no potential cost to the citizen other than more time to make their point, and any needed follow up may be easily performed.  Why should I care how someone chooses to pay tickets, so long as it does not cost me much in time or money?

 Oftentimes, when this kind of thing happens it merits taking a step back and considering what would motivate someone to go through so much trouble to make their point.  I have had interesting and informative discussions result from similar instances.  Perhaps rates, parking availability (supply/demand), enforcement, adjudication, or collection processes and practices need evaluation and change.  Thoughtful  follow up with an open mind can turn this soft form of civil disobedience into a positive experience for both the citizen and bureaucrat.

 Regards,

 Mike

Michael T. Klein, CAPP
Executive Director
Albany Parking Authority