I got a $52 parking ticket in front of my own home – officer even admitted I had a sticker, but rule made no sense | 2YJY87S | 2024-04-23 12:08:01
A DRIVER was shocked to find a parking ticket under the windshield wiper of his legally permitted vehicle.
The ticket forced the driver to pony up $52 – he said lawmakers needed to change the permitting rule.
Robert Bunch received the ticket outside his Baltimore, Maryland, home in 2020, according to the Bolton Hill Community Association.
Bunch knew his new vehicle was parked properly.
The community requires cars display residential permits on their dashboard.
Several Baltimore neighborhoods participate in the city's Residential Permit Parking Program, or RPP.
The city rolled out the program to "create restricted parking areas to help secure available parking for residents."
Residents who live in neighborhoods enlisted in the program must display permits every time they park on the street, according to the city's website.
Bunch said he hadn't received his new permit yet, so he opted for a visitors pass.
But police said the permit was displayed on the wrong side of the car.
"The enforcement officer recognized I had a permit," Bunch told the publication at the time.
"The violation is for 'improper display.' [The ticket] is the same amount as if had I not had any permit."
<!-- End of Brightcove Player --> Parking enforcement officers in the city walk in the street to assign tickets.
At the time, local code required drivers to put the permit on the driver's side of the car.
The placement rule was established to make sure the permits were easily accessible to officers.
But Bunch said the rule didn't make sense for all of Baltimore's streets.
"How do they manage to patrol the one-way section of Mount Royal Avenue between McMechen and Lafayette?" he asked.
<p class="article__content--intro"> Parking on a public street is generally legal, even in front of someone's house, experts say. </p> </div> </div> "Cars park on both sides of the one-way street so the officers must walk on the sidewalk side of the vehicle to inspect permits."
Bunch said he wanted local officials to make rules changes.
"I see it as a money grab from the city," he said.
"Baltimore has enough issues that cause residents to leave the city."
His advocacy appears to have worked.
Current Baltimore city parking rules mandate drivers to place permits in conspicuous locations.
The law states drivers must "affix [permits] to the vehicle," but doesn't mandate a specific dashboard spot.
More >> https://ift.tt/w9YA5d8 Source: MAG NEWS
