I Paid for Parking

Or, more accurately: I double paid for parking. At work. Yesterday was the first day of the new permits. I had a new hang tag but I had left it at home. Rather than chance it I decided to pay the $7 it would take to park in the garage. Chancing it seemed like long odds as while driving through the lot I saw at least 10 cars with last year's (excuse me: yesterday's) tag and a bright yellow ticket envelope.

I've forgotten my tag in the past once. I was coming back from a trip or something and had forgotten to hang it on the mirror - it was right there in the console; still got a ticket. I appealed it and they said "ok Mr. Boevers, just this once." I am taking them at their word.

Interestingly, they write your license number on the ticket. It would seem like doing the 20 second radio call to verify if in fact you are a permit parker would be the civilized thing to do. But they don't.

Also, interestingly, the citation isn't for parking without a permit, it is for parking without properly displaying your tag. So even if you are a permit parker you can get a ticket.

At this point I think I call douchebag.

I mean, you pay, and then you park. I'm sorry if I forgot to place my tag, but I did in fact already pay to park. Citing a permit parker because they didn't properly display their tag is a petty revenue grab. For shame.

I guess the argument is that you could loan your tag to someone else. Perhaps if you are worried about that you should issue decals instead of hang tags. Poof. Problem solved.

Really the whole thing is sorta douchey as you have to have a verified ID to get into the lots anyway. So in most cases, if you are in the lot, you have paid to park. Shouldn't even have to verify the hang tags. I'll give them this one though as it is possible to follow someone through the gate - or, at present one of the gates isn't actually long enough to keep out my truck, let alone most cars. Maybe they should fix that.

And who gave these people the right to write me a ticket in the first place?

I'm sure the phrase "quasi-pulic entity" figures into this mess, but really, can any private parking lot owner issue you a ticket? I thought that was a law enforcement thing stemming authority from the public? How did a college get this privilege? Anyone ever get a ticket at a library? Or at a hospital? Even at a government building? The only place I can recall getting a ticket are a public lot or street, or a university. Maybe we should be calling shenanigans too.

If you don't pay the ticket you get a boot. When I was working in Nevada I learned it is specifically against the law to withhold a person's property to compel them to pay a debt. Isn't booting your car, or keeping you penned behind a gate at least that? Kinda feels a little like theft. They are after all keeping your car. Isn't that stealing? If you're in your car and they don't let you leave isn't that unlawful imprisonment? (No, David, because you can get out of your car and walk away. Ok, but I would still argue theft.)

Normally if you park on someone's private property in violation of the rules they can 1. deal with it, or 2. have you towed. In all likelihood if they tow you and damage your car they are probably liable to some extent. Doesn't seem like they can whip out a ticket pad and cite you. Or if they tried, it sure doesn't seem like they could compel you to pay.

I bet at school students sign some sort of agreement with regard to campus facilities consenting to be fined. I don't recall doing so as a staff member or as faculty. I guess be entering the lot you tacitly agree to some kind of Parking EULA, but I don't recall seeing a sign.

Shenanigans I say. The people that work there work hard, they deserve the benefit of the doubt. The students who go there pay a lot of money, they deserve the benefit of the doubt. People visiting are potential employees and students or our neighbors in the community, they deserve the benefit of the doubt. I'm not saying that people that don't have permits should be able to use the permit lots whenever, but people who pay and don't have their tags deserve the benefit of the doubt - especially in the first few days. And nobody should ever have to double pay to avoid a ticket.