An unfortunate incident happened the other night that has caused me to make a revision on my qualifications for head of the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security - I'm ashamed to admit that I got a parking ticket. But it wasn't my fault, and I have witnesses to prove it.
I went downtown after work to meet a friend who wanted to talk about a couple of big personal problems he was dealing with, and I parked in a spot with a parking meter. I got there at 5:05, and met my friend in front of the restaurant, and he witnessed me putting three quarters in the parking meter. In Louisville, you don't have to pay for the parking meter after 6:00 in the evening, so at 20 minutes per quarter, I was covered. Imagine my surprise when I left the restaurant an hour and a half later and found the ticket on my windshield. It was in a green envelope, conveniently pre-addressed so all the criminal had to do was enclose the check and add a stamp and their debt to society would be paid. At first glance, we thought it was a coupon for something, given the bright green envelope that was on my car and a half dozen other cars. It was a coupon all right - a coupon that cost me $15. We couldn't believe it - I had actually put the money in the meter and saw the digital display say "60 minutes" yet the parking meter storm troopers said they gave me the ticket at 5:26.
When I got home, I looked at the citation, and found a phone number and website where I could get information on appealing the ticket. I went to the cite and printed out the form to send in, and once I started filling out the information, I said to hell with it. If the appeal was denied, I would have to go downtown and appear before an "independent hearings officer" and plead my case to them. That would mean I would have to take off from work, drive downtown (where I would run the risk of yet another parking ticket from the parking meter storm troopers, and make my friend take off from work as well, so he could be my witness. It's just not worth the effort. I know I am in the right, and sent a letter to the "Metro Parking Office" along with my check for $15. The next time I go down to that restaurant, I am going to bring my digital camera and take a picture of the meter in case it happens again and I need proof. This is just another case of The Man trying to keep us down.
2 comments:
The new parking meters in downtown Louisville are rather frustrating because of the double-sided feature in which one meter accommodates two parking spaces. I made a quick stop downtown at the notary supply shop which should not have taken more than ten minutes. I spent that amount of time just trying to correctly program the machine and still wasn't convinced that my spot was paid for. It's just another guise to provoke people to park in the government subsidized parking garages. What steams my noodles is that most government officials and Louis B. Coleman flagrantly disregard the parking meters altogether or ignore their citations altogether. Another reason to support the defunct light rail option that we once had that would eliminate the cumbersome task of attempting to park legally in an attempt to support our downtown businesses.
I agree with you, MP. People here in our fair city are more concerned with where to put the @#$% basketball arena than they are about problems like this. Just wait - let them put the new arena in downtown, and then they'll all be crying the blues when they get robbed by the parking meters. Then you and I can sit back and have a good laugh at them.
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