Parking Ticket Cash Cow

Comments

Parking at a bus stop should cost $142. I really hate it when I see that.

on November 23, 2009 at 11:04 AM

Fucking cowards. You know, this all goes back to 1994 when the state supreme court ruled as unconstitutional some tax the city had levied for ages to pay for road repairs. Instead of having the balls to levy a new, constitutionally-kosher tax to pay for road repair, they took the chickenshit way out and used revenue from parking tickets instead. That's why Seattle is so insanely draconian about parking.

Seattlelites unite, and protest every ticket you get as a matter of course. That'll at least gum up the works, and if enough people do it, the city "leaders" will have to find their fucking spines and start funding roads in a sensible, less punitive way.

TVDinner on November 23, 2009 at 11:05 AM

@ 2 - True. But, business won't like that and will fight to the death to prevent any changes.

on November 23, 2009 at 11:08 AM

gross.

Cale on November 23, 2009 at 11:10 AM

@2 Thank you for reminding me to fight this parking ticket on my desk.

on November 23, 2009 at 11:11 AM

Double 'em. That's the cowardly thing; they don't have the guts to slap serious fines on parking violations.

You do not have a God-given right to park your car anywhere and anytime you want. @5, "who knew" should be you, if you have eyes in your head to see the signs.

Fnarf on November 23, 2009 at 11:14 AM

Suburbanites maybe should .. oh, I don't know ... TAKE THE FRICKIN BUS ...

Will in Seattle on November 23, 2009 at 11:17 AM

Consider: some of us might have cars in order to be able to escape the sanctimonious dippiness that infects this town from time to time. Maybe they should install stop sign cameras to auto-fine bicyclists that run them. I'll bet you would get your lycra in a twist about that.

Rhizome on November 23, 2009 at 11:24 AM

Only $4.00?!?!? How about $40.00???

And all other traffic infraction add a zero on the end of. Seriously, I'm sick of Seattle driver's thinking their god's gift to whatever.

Driving is a responsiblity and a privilage. Make people really pay if they screw up. Oh, and no pay? Impound their vehicle until they pay.

Cato the Younger Younger on November 23, 2009 at 11:26 AM

I don't understand why anybody would have a problem with this at all. It's not like somebody's forcing you to park your car illegally. Just think of this as a tax on stupid people.

Fifty-Two-Eighty on November 23, 2009 at 11:32 AM

I'm all with #1. Parking in a bus zone is only three dollars more than overstaying a meter? Shows what sort of revered status transit has. Not much of one.

on November 23, 2009 at 11:33 AM

@8,

As long as they do it to drivers who run stop signs, or my new personal favorite: drivers who stop for a red light then go through before it turns green. I've already seen one near accident thanks to that. Fucking geniuses.

keshmeshi on November 23, 2009 at 11:35 AM

If it keeps library branches open more hours I'm all for it. Don't like it? Don't park illegally. I average about one ticket a month, and every time it is because I'm too lazy to find a proper spot. No skin off my teeth.

Rotten666 on November 23, 2009 at 11:36 AM

In Portland, tickets cost $100 if you park in a bus zone. In San Francisco, it costs $253. In Seattle, now it costs $42.

Portland: http://www.portlandonline.com/transporta…
SF: http://www.sfmta.com/cms/penf/pkfines.ht…

In Portland, 108,700 people ride max light rail every day (not including the 4th line that just opened).

In San Francisco, 163,700 people ride muni light rail every day (not including BART).

In Seattle, only 16,200 people ride link light rail every day.

lizzie on November 23, 2009 at 11:58 AM

This reminds me of a vastly entertaining guilty-pleasure series that followed Philly parking enforcement and impound a la "Cops." It's easy money, no doubt.

gloomy gus on November 23, 2009 at 12:07 PM

I would rather pay $100 in extra taxes than a $40 for a parking ticket. There are few things that bring me so much rage as a parking ticket.

Andy_Squirrel on November 23, 2009 at 12:09 PM

@8 if you use your car to get out of the city then why do you care if they raise parking fines? Other than your knee-jerk reaction to hating cyclists how is parking fines anyway related to people riding bikes?

Little Red Ryan Hood on November 23, 2009 at 12:12 PM

@12. They do. You can certainly get a ticket for running a red-light last time I checked.

@8. Exactly. How about we start making bicyclist pay for tags, and the license plates that go with them? This way we could ticket them for ALWAYS running red-lights, or switching into any lane they please, or any of the other "king of the road" type behaviors of the typical hipster one pants leg up Seattle biker.

And @ 9. Seattle drivers are not "gods gift to whatever". They are gods gift to roads,sidewalks, or anything else the state needs money for.

mrbombit on November 23, 2009 at 12:21 PM

Let's just get real and institute shoot to kill traffic stops for all watch salesmen who file unconstitutional state initiatives - with a confiscatory traffic fine of $1 million on their estates for being brain dead.

Will in Seattle on November 23, 2009 at 12:22 PM

@8, I have a car. I park legally, and I don't get tickets. I've had one parking ticket in my life, and that was a private one when I cheated and parked in a Safeway lot and got caught. Guilty as charged, and I paid it without complaint.

I agree: parking in a bus zone should be $400.

Fnarf on November 23, 2009 at 12:25 PM

@17 actually I am a cyclist, but nonetheless think those who imagine that riding a bike/not having a car puts them on some lofty moral plane (and who seem to be over-represented on Slog) are rather comical.

We need more parking parasites like we need a case of H1N1. Bullshit means of raising revenue, and like any good lefty I usually have no problem with paying taxes. It makes little difference that other cities are as or more addicted to bleeding those who say park 6 inches over a yellow line or 1 minute over an expired meter. Bullshit everywhere. Swarms of parking buttwipes does not mean more getting ticketed for flagrant violations. Those are plenty well covered presently. You get towed for parking in a bus stop and that costs a lot more than $42.

Rhizome on November 23, 2009 at 12:29 PM

@21 good for you being a cyclist with a car. Now how does an increase in parking tickets fines and enforcement have anything to do with cyclists running stop signs?

Adding 5 meter maids doesn't take what we have currently enforcing parking violations and turn it into a swarm.

Little Red Ryan Hood on November 23, 2009 at 12:43 PM

@18,

Last time I checked, no one bothers enforcing that except at very few intersections with cameras.

keshmeshi on November 23, 2009 at 12:46 PM

You people can't be serious.

$39 dollars. Thirty-nine fucking dollars. The price has to go up sometime, why not now?

If parking tickets are seriously impacting your ability to manage your finances, you might want to think about doing a better job of parking you car. If anything I would offer that the current rates to park in many parts of the city are too low, based on the amount of parking available between 8am and 6pm.

JaketheSnake on November 23, 2009 at 1:10 PM

@24, if there's no parking available, then BY DEFINITION the rate's too low. They should probably move out the meter time period to 9 PM in most areas, too, even though I take advantage of the 6 PM cutoff a lot (I love parking in the ID at 4:01 PM).

Fnarf on November 23, 2009 at 1:21 PM

How come noone has brought up the fact that they are also hiring five new enforcement officers. They will have to write a huge number of additional tickets just to pay for the salaries and benefits of those officers. Not sure what they are paid, but assuming that total cost including benefits is $42k per officer (probably not enough, but it makes the math easy), that would make a total of $210k of additional salaries and benefits. At $42 per ticket, that means they would need to write an additional 5,000 tickets per year just to make up the cost of the new officers. Only if they get above that number would they actually add any real tax revenue.

en on November 23, 2009 at 1:24 PM

@26 that means if each officer works 5 days a week they need to write 4 tickets a day to make your salary figures, which doesn't sound too hard.

Little Red Ryan Hood on November 23, 2009 at 1:29 PM

@26 - because, even though you haven't been paying attention, if you had you would have realized we actually grew the number of RPZ areas, so we need those extra traffic enforcement officers.

Thanks.

Will in Seattle on November 23, 2009 at 1:47 PM

There's a great article about this up at Capitol Hill Seattle right now. Capitol Hill is getting some changes to it's parking arrangement, some include extending paid parking to 8pm. I'm all for it.
http://capitolhillseattle.com/2009/11/19…

Enigma on November 23, 2009 at 2:01 PM

Will and Fnarf--you guys are entertaining as hell in a good way and I'm sad to say I totally agree with you on this one only. There's a certain neighbor who parks her car for 1-3 hours every saturday here in the CD in the #3 bus stop and it amazes me she's never been ticketed--I think she knows the drivers well enough and she is super-sexy...HOWEVER i think I'll start phoning her in as I cannot stand that my local branch library is slated to be closed more often...and this city ain't getting any cheaper to live in. Hmmn....perhaps I'll start phoning in all violations I see from now on..?

I'm a bus rider, one car owner, no bike owner, and it is infuriating that all it takes is one SOV to foul up a fully loaded extremely busy bus route like the 2/3/4. Its time for car drivers to take on the responsibilities that they assume when they operate the the vehicle; yielding to tranist, pedestrians, and adhering to parking regulations. If you don't like it, don't drive. Or i'll call you in.

Parking Enforcement Dispatch
To report illegal parking
(Seattle Police Department)
206-625-5011

on November 23, 2009 at 2:10 PM

Just let the air out of her tires a few times.

That will work.

You just need a pen - unscrew the cap of the tires next to the bus stop, depress the lever, and let the hiss of satisfaction solve your problem.

She won't park there after 2 or 3 times of that, that's for sure.

Will in Seattle on November 23, 2009 at 2:52 PM

(lever - pin - whatever)

Will in Seattle on November 23, 2009 at 2:52 PM

These fines need to be tripled, at least.

B Strand on November 23, 2009 at 3:50 PM

I recently was ticketed for spending one hour and fifteen minutes in a one hour zone. I had been shopping, and spent $175, paying Seattle sales tax. The officer had not even started writting the ticket when I walked up to the car, but insisted on "calling me out" to give me a ticket. I felt violated by the whole experience.

As a result of this experience, I will avoid Seattle retail when at all possible. As a business owner, I would think twice before putiing my business in Seattle, knowing that my costumers may be treated like this. I can assure the Seattle City council that this experience will cost them far more in future tax revenue from my purchases than the $35 they carved out of me. I can just as easily go to Bellevue.

on November 27, 2009 at 9:39 AM

The police is NOT a tax-collector. Police is there to deal with violators of a law. Period. If you break a law,there may be a fine.

HOWEVER, if the government passes or enforces laws for the purpose of revenues, it is ILLEGAL AND UNCONSTITUTIONAL and facing the risk losing in the supreme court and having to refund ALL FINES. Laws/fines are there to protect somebody, NOT to bypass/substitude tax revenues. I hope somebody takes this up soon!

on November 29, 2009 at 1:17 PM

I live in LA and live on A street that has street cleaning twice a week. Most of the time I'm at work when this is going on. But on those occasions that I have a day off in the middle of the week and forget to move my car, that cost me $60. I understand that we are made aware of street cleaning but a $60 fine for parking on the street I live on is ridiculous. Oh lets not forget that if someone is moving in to the neighborhood, they can purchase signs that make it illegal to park infront of your own house for 12 hours out of the day (Sundays included) usually from 6am to 6pm. You not only get a $60 ticket but you also get towed. Tell me this is not a money making venture? People complain about taxes getting raised but how else do you think they are going to go about making up that revenue. BY SCREWING US LITTLE BITS AT A TIME.

I'm not taking this s**t anymore on December 28, 2009 at 4:36 PM

Some meter maids suck more than others. Never make the mistake of reasoning with one of them. It's like trying to talk to a piece of wood. Once you talk to one of their supervisors, you begin to understand why. My unloading in the street was compared to arson. Both are technically illegal. Most people would agree that arson is a little worse, and that unloading has to get done somehow, some way in a timely manner -- not always neat and easy in an urban setting.

on December 31, 2009 at 9:07 PM

Parking Ticket Cash Cow

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