Home › Forums › West Seattle Rants & Raves › Rant: Parking ticket in driveway
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November 15, 2011 at 4:23 pm #601258
kayoParticipantI parked in my driveway yesterday, but purposely didn’t pull in all the way in order to rake leaves which were covering the driveway and making a big mess. In doing so I blocked the sidewalk which is not something I would normally do. I then took my tantruming 2 year old in the house to feed and nap. When I came out to sweep an hour later, I had a $47 parking ticket on my car (trust me, that hurts my budget). I got the ticket 10 minutes after I parked in my own driveway. Just wanted to warn other folks that the parking police appear to be out in full force these days. I plan to go in and explain the circumstances and hopefully get this reduced, but wanted to warn others to watch how they park even if briefly, in their own driveways.
November 15, 2011 at 4:29 pm #740503
goodgracesParticipantOh, that bites. What neighborhood do you live in?
November 15, 2011 at 4:29 pm #740504
luckymom30ParticipantAre you near a school so it blocked kids from using the sidewalk?
November 15, 2011 at 4:35 pm #740505
AlParticipantWhile I am sorry this happened to you it’s not that you got a ticket for parking in your driveway, you got a ticket for blocking the public sidewalk (i.e. pedestrian right of way). One of my neighbors does this fairly regularly and it drives me, as a frequent pedestrian, crazy. If they are there for 5-10 min (i.e. raking leaves) fine, but often the car is left there for hours while pedestrians have to walk into the street or up into their driveway and through their yard to walk by. This happens more often than people think, especially if one doesn’t walk much. It is a problem.
November 15, 2011 at 4:46 pm #740506
kayoParticipantYep Al. I agree with you. Drives me nuts when I am out with my kids. I only planned to park there long enough to sweep, but screamypants child got the best of me. I am typically a rule follower, especially with this particular law, which is partly why I found it so frustrating. If I had gone around the back of the house to dig out a shovel, but been delayed for 5 minutes, I would’ve still gotten the ticket – it happened that quickly. Apparently, you can’t park that way EVER even if you have a good reason to do so briefly.
BTW: I live on 26th in north delridge not near a school.
Also find it irritating that there is a car that has been parked poorly on the street without moving for over a week right by my house that did not get ticketed.
November 15, 2011 at 4:55 pm #740507
365StairsParticipantThis is the “new” way Seattle is going to make $.
They are also in neighborhoods ticketing cars that have been parked too long….camper trailers…any number of other things that would not have typically been a target or concern until this enconomy mess thingy…
The message would be better received inside neighborhoods if there were at least a warning ticket…then if you do it again…you have to pay.
November 15, 2011 at 5:19 pm #740508
celeste17ParticipantI would ask for arbitration on this ticket. With the city of seattle you write an explination (or reason) why you got the ticket and that you have never done it before and you are aware of the rule and that you won’t do it again. Usually they will knock the ticket down in half or dismiss it totally and will tell you to keep your nose clean for 6 months and it will be exsponged (? spelling) from your record. I got a parking ticket last month for parking head into the parking space instead of back in. I knew the other side of the street was back in but I didn’t know that this side was (I don’t understand why we have back in parking). I was going to protest the ticket but since I saw the sign (faded and kind of hidden) I went ahead and paid it.
November 15, 2011 at 5:20 pm #740509
bailecyclistParticipantGlad to see that SPD is helping make our neighborhoods more pedestrian-friendly. As a regular walker, I find cars parked on sidewalks to be very rude and frustrating.
November 15, 2011 at 6:14 pm #740510
metrognomeParticipantas a wheelchair user, cars parked across the sidewalk were the bane of my existence when I lived on Beach Drive and tried to go for walks, since I can’t simply step into the street to go around them. If I was on my way home, I would have to backtrack to find a driveway and travel in the street until I could find another driveway to get back on the sidewalk.
that said, I would follow Celeste17’s suggestion and appeal. I would guess the parking enforcement officer just happened to be driving by or they were there because of other reports of illegal parking. If you have someone in your neighborhood who parks illegally, you need to call the city. Believe it or not, they don’t have the resources to be driving around looking for this kind of stuff.
btw, when I was going to EWSC in Cheney, we had had a lot of snow over a week, so I parked on the wrong side of the residential street with my car facing downhill; got a ticket for being parked more than 12″ from the curb …
November 15, 2011 at 6:24 pm #740511
rockergirl5678ParticipantKayo – bummer that this happened and as noted above you can request a hearing, explain the situation and most likely get reduced or dissmissed. Hassle to do but worth the time. As for faded hidden signs Celeste mentioned above – take pictures and show the judge they will wave the ticket and have the issue addressed (at least in my case it was – no parking “red” strip barely visible and sign hidden in overgrown bushes).
As for the car that has been parked poorly on the street without moving for over a week report it online (https://web1.seattle.gov/police/AbandonedVehicles/Present/AbandonedVehicle.aspx) and they will come out and “give them a warning” notification. If it remains report it again and they will either ticket or tow it. Sometimes those vehicles are stolen cars dropped off after a night of joy riding. http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/parking/parking72hour.htm
Vehicles such as motor homes, boats, cars not in use (I’ve noticed several cars with covers in my neighborhood being stored on the street)should be stored on your property (alley, parking pad, etc.) or you need to make arrangemenets for offsite storage. There is no reason just because you purchased extra vehicles or personal recreational equipment they should be parked on the city street when not in use. Vehicles over 80 inches (such as RVs, boats, tractor trailers and larger trucks) from parking on most city streets (any street except those adjacent to Manufacturing or Industrial zoning) between the hours of midnight and 6:00 a.m.) If you can afford to buy then plan to park and pay.
November 15, 2011 at 10:14 pm #740512
goodgracesParticipantFYI — I have done mitigation several times in the past but in the last year+ have noticed (and have heard others’ accounts) that tickets are not being reduced by nearly as much as before, and rarely are they thrown out unless the ticketer was clearly in error. The city is definitely trying to minimize its losses in this regard.
November 15, 2011 at 10:20 pm #740513
bnoyesMemberThis does sound like a bummer, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I kind of like seeing this enforced. I regularly go for walks/runs in my neighborhood and it does bother me when people park their cars like this. I know you weren’t intending to leave your car like that, but it only needs to be there a short time in order to be a nuisance, if not a hazard, for a pedestrian.
November 15, 2011 at 10:42 pm #740514
skeeterParticipantNow that I’m pushing a stroller around the neighborhood, the blocked sidewalks drive me nuts. It’s a safety concern and I’m glad to see the rules enforced.
November 16, 2011 at 5:54 am #740515
munchkin22MemberAbout 2 weeks ago we pulled into our neighbor’s driveway across the street in order to back into ours. Realizing I needed to put away her recycle and garbage cans, I left the truck across the walk for maybe 1.5 minutes when a meter maid pulled up behind me and said I can’t be parking across the driveway. I explained what we were doing and she drove off. She was actually in my way of moving my vehicle. We found it odd, as I don’t recall ever seeing parking enforcement on our street in 35+ years unless they were called.
Revenue enhancement I guess. BTW, all our vehicles are usually on our own property, and not across the walk, nor in the street.
November 16, 2011 at 3:32 pm #740516
thesonicsMember$47 just for that. Seems a little unfair to me. With a violation as such, I feel a $25 fee is fair punishment. But $47 for that is a bit too much.
November 16, 2011 at 9:50 pm #740517
KlauseMemberI’m sure while the PEO (Parking Enforcement Officer) was there writing you a ticket that there were at least 5 other cars on your street that were parked illegally by facing the wrong direction. Correct and legal parking is to have the passenger side (right side tire) against the curb. And I’m sure not one of them got ticketed. People get so Lazy that they don’t even bother to take just 20 seconds to turn around and face the right direction when parking. With so many cars parked illegally in Seattle, it’s hard to tell if you’re turning down a one-way street or not. LAZY, just plain Lazy is what it has become.
November 16, 2011 at 10:46 pm #740518
todd_ParticipantYeah, I think if parking enforcement was purely revenue driven, as some people claim, they would enforce more than just blocking sidewalks. I wish they would ticket for parking on the wrong side of the street and for being too close to driveways, and too close to intersections and the list goes on … It would improve visibility/safety and heck, the city could be practically in the black if they enforced the laws. :)
November 17, 2011 at 9:11 pm #740519
singularnameParticipantUsually, Kayo, I’d be “boohoohoo,” but I feel ya here given what you describe. (Usually I feel like OPs on this sort of stuff are just making a bunch of unobjective excuses, but I believe ya for whatever reason. :->) I guess I just comment because, this sounds to me like a petty neighbor complaint, and such a neighbor would be the same one to bitch if you didn’t rake your leaves.
Anyhoo, sympathies from me.
November 18, 2011 at 5:29 pm #740520
dhgParticipantI got a ticket a couple years ago for “blocking the sidewalk” when, in fact, my bumper was all of 3 inches hanging over the sidewalk. It was manifestly unfair considering cars across the street routinely blocked the entire sidewalk and I’ve never seen a ticket on those cars.
Just as an aside, if you pay the ticket on the web you will be charged a hefty “convenience” fee. The City has decided that the ability to pay on the web is unfair to all those who don’t have internet access and so they charge extra for it even though its vastly more efficient than handling checks.
November 18, 2011 at 5:52 pm #740521
DBPMemberAll I gotta say about this thread is that it had better be retired by Thanksgiving.
November 18, 2011 at 8:44 pm #740522
skeeterParticipantI didn’t realize that parking on the “wrong” side of the street was illegal. Thanks for the tip!
November 18, 2011 at 10:48 pm #740523
CaitParticipantKayo – the police have been in the area patrolling (we live in your neck of the woods) due to a couple of break ins that have happened recently, so that could explain it. There is definitely more of a presence lately which i am happy about, but I’m sorry you didn’t get the chance you needed to move your car. I had a similar experience lately – it’s a perfect 50/50 mix of “D’oh!” and “DANG IT!”
January 6, 2012 at 4:31 am #740524
kayoParticipantNot that anyone cares, lol, but I contested my ticket by mail and found out today that it was dismissed. I am glad to know that the magistrate heard my case and agreed that it was a case of bad timing more than anything. Just wanted to let folks know if they feel they’ve been wrongly ticketed that it might be worth going through the process of contesting, especially since it can be done by mail. BTW: I have noticed a lot more parking enforcement around in general and I have become extremely careful about where and how I park, so I guess this was a wake up call that worked for me!
January 6, 2012 at 7:42 pm #740525
Pablo LocoMemberKayo you are selfish and should of payed the ticket. The world does not revolve around your time or situation. I don’t care if your digging for gold, keep your car off the sidewalk, Maybe a little more concern for pedestrians and people in wheelchairs. Its just plain rude and no I would never block a sidewalk
January 6, 2012 at 8:39 pm #740526
MBParticipantWow Pablo, you sound like a gem yourself. Kayo, for the record, I think I know who you are and from what I understand you are neither rude nor sellfish. You are a great mother and neighbor. There are rules for a reason and like you said, this was a good reminder. You found yourself with a screaming child and you left the car blocking the sidewalk to take your child inside. You don’t leave your car there regularly, in fact I don’t think I’ve ever seen it blocking the sidewalk before. I’ve had to block mine for a few minutes a number of times to unload groceries and I will continue to do so. You followed the process and the ticket was dismissed because you weren’t one of those people we all hate that just leave their cars that way for hours on end with no regard for others. In fact, you should be one of Pablo’s favorite people now because you will likely never block a sidewalk again for any reason after this. Thanks for being a good neighbor.
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