Christmas gift to shoppers, shops
You know how funny it is to see that little meter maid hustling all over the place leaving unwanted souvenirs on the windshields of first-time visitors to Monroe. She always seems to get caught putting the ticket on the window five minutes after the meter expires. Course, these Monroe neophytes don't have a clue about how to get their tickets validated, let alone where to pay it. But she's a pretty good ambassador to strangers in town. They don't ever want to come back again. Which is fine with a lot of us. Really. Strange people, yuck! Custer had the right idea whenever he ran into strange people.
But here's a novel idea the city might try. Maybe the Downtown Monroe Business Nazis (not to be confused with most downtown business people or even DMBN members) could even get behind it -- a holiday season moratorium on ticket-writing. Just think of all the bad will that would be avoided. Christmas, after all, is supposed to be the season of good will toward motorists. Let's get in the spirit. What would it take, an act of city council? Let's do it. Give the meter maid a vacation.
But here's a novel idea the city might try. Maybe the Downtown Monroe Business Nazis (not to be confused with most downtown business people or even DMBN members) could even get behind it -- a holiday season moratorium on ticket-writing. Just think of all the bad will that would be avoided. Christmas, after all, is supposed to be the season of good will toward motorists. Let's get in the spirit. What would it take, an act of city council? Let's do it. Give the meter maid a vacation.
posted by The Observer at 11/14/2006 11:21:00 AM
3 Comments:
A moratorium on parking ticket writing would simply give all of the employees downtown (who are too lazy to walk)a parking space at their front door. That would hurt businesses during Christmas, not help! Most business owners downtown wouldn't think of letting their employees park on the streets, but try and tell a lawyer or service business to keep their employees off of the street, and they don't seem to care. Mainly since they themselves are violators.
You have a point, anonymous. Then how about this: Have a moratorium in a prescribed area. Would a city or county employee walk to someplace like E. Front St. Is that farther than some of the creative places they now find to park? Would they park on S. Monroe St? Certainly downtown business owners should have a handle on where their employees park and should be able to control it. They're possibly hurting themselves too and someone should hold their feet to the fire. Here's another question -- if I'm a lawyer and my receptionist parks downtown all day, do I get to validate her ticket? Who monitors this stuff? Another thing I've heard is that there are quite a few scofflaws who get tickets routinely and don't do anything about them. Is this true? How can they do that?
City employees have a place to park. County employees need a place to park, and it seems that they will park anywhere that is close. They will not walk very far, it seems. As for your receptionist getting her parking ticket validated, no, can't do it. If found to be an employee getting their ticket validated, the ticket gets sent back to the business validating the ticket. It then turns into the responsibility of the business owner, or if the business ignores it, then the receiver of the ticket will get a collection notice in a few weeks. The program is implemented by the DMBN and is monitored by their ticket committee.
Those few who routinely get tickets and do nothing about them (the names Shifflet, Patterson, and Nisley have made it to the Clerk/Treasurers office routinely) will have to pony up eventually. Rumor has it that they will not be able to renew their licences with these outstanding tickets on their record. I've even heard that the traffic committee or parking committee has recommended the booting of these habitual offenders' vehicles. That would surely get their attention, and also generate revenue to the City when the tickets have to be paid. I've heard amounts well into the thousands of dollars for the above mentioned offenders. Hope this helps clarify.
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