Why is parking so messed up in Portland?
I have the unfortunate luck of having bought a home in an area of our fine city where parking permits are required. It's a two hour zone in front of my house.
They say that in order to protect my parking privileges, I have to purchase a $32 parking permit for my car that will allow me to park on the street in front of my house year round, all the time, with no penalty. They say for an additional $32 I can get a temporary permit for a visitor's car that will allow them to park there without penalty.
I already paid several thousand $$ in property taxes this year to Portland. I also paid the $64 for the right to park my car and a visitors car in front of my house on the street for periods longer than 2 hours.
Now a visitor has gotten a ticket because the metermaid was too busy to look and see that the visitor pass was indeed posted in the window of the car. Guess what, it's guilty until proven innocent. The only way to contest the ticket is to PAY THE $40 FIRST and then ask the "City that Works" to refund it after they agree that it was issued in error.
Something here is messed up. It has to be changed. Does anyone know where I should start so that my parking rights in front of my house, and the rights of my guests, are not discriminated against? Do you have to pay $64 a year on top of other high prices already paid for property taxes in order to park at your house? And then do you have to take time off from work and pay an additional $40 to contest a ticket that should never have been written in the first place?
Welcome to Portland, now give us your money.
4 Comments
Sounds like a scheme worthy of Boss Hogg. Where are those Duke boys when you need them?
'tis the continued creep of "no new taxes." In Cali, good ‚Äňol Schwarzenegger is claiming that no taxes have been raised during his tenure, yet collegiate fees at public schools have more than doubled. The trick for city council members and the like, these days, is to find what level one can raise which fees to, and then not anger one‚Äôs base.
I HATE that…I got a ticket down town dropping my kids of at school with the ticket I had purchased (a lucky by rare occurrence) sticking to the proper window. It is unfortunate that I had parked there while the city's only blind meter maid was working. Mabey I should have put it braille side out. Forgive me if I seem so pissed about this but I would love to say I paid the $40 and then was refunded. This is not the case I had barely enough money to cover the parking spot let alone $40 that they may return……now I have a $100 and something fine for dropping my kids off at school. Hasn't Paul paid enough money for in taxes for that already…..
Yeah, that does sound frustrating.
Maybe while you're frustrated about that, you can fix your server so that your email doesn't bounce so that old friends who are trying to look you up so that they can make fun of you just like old times will actually be able to email you, rather than having to insert off-topic comments into your blog.