‘It’s a cash grab,’ fumes driver fined $80 for parking outside his house – he had to go to city website to find out why | 88I24H8 | 2024-05-12 12:08:01
'It's a cash grab,' fumes driver fined $80 for parking outside his house – he had to go to city website to find out why | 88I24H8 | 2024-05-12 12:08:01
A HOMEOWNER was fined for parking his car in front of his home after a sweeper cleaned the street – he missed an important rule.
According to a parking executive, it happens every year as people miss the posted signs.
The city of Calgary in Alberta, Canada has a "spring cleaning" campaign involving street sweepers in residential neighborhoods to keep the city clean and debris-free.
One resident, and many of his neighbors, saw a sweeper come through the neighborhood and clean the curb and assumed it would be safe to return his vehicle to its normal spot.
After all, the sweeper came and did its job, so to him, there was no reason not to move his car back to the spot in front of his house.
He was shocked when he walked to his car and found an $80 ticket on his windshield.
If not paid within a month, it would become a $120 ticket.
"The street had been swept and other cars had been returned as well," he told Calgary City News anonymously.
"I looked on the website and, low and behold, there is a paragraph there that says don't return your vehicle until 4 o'clock because the enforcement people could be driving by."
Despite signs being posted in the neighborhood on white boards, he claimed the city was purposefully withholding information from residents to claim more revenue from tickets.
"It's kind of a cash grab as far as I'm concerned," he said.
"The enforcement officer should be able to tell that the street has been cleaned. I don't think there is any common sense there."
<!-- End of Brightcove Player --> Todd Sullivan, the leader of Parking Patrol and Investigation of the city's parking division, said that the sentiments of that resident come through his department every year.
Signs are posted in the neighborhood to warn drivers not to park between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. to allow the vehicles to do their jobs.
And there's a good reason for the blocked time.
"They may not be done working on your block, they have that entire day to do whatever work they need to do," Sullivan said.
However, Sullivan realized the signs are easy to miss for those not looking for them.
Sometimes the sweeper has to come back and sweep a second time to effectively clean the street, hence the posted time[/caption]
However, the city is not trying to grab cash from residents.
"It's a question that comes up every year," he said.
"There's a great deal of information on the signs, but we know people are primarily driving by them, which is why the information is also detailed on the website."
He said the city's spring cleaning program runs into June, with trucks running from Monday through Friday.
So, look for white signs about sweeper trucks to avoid getting an $80 ticket.
More >> https://ift.tt/Hv5SthZ Source: MAG NEWS
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