Here’s Fulton betwixt Larkin and Hyde, on the day one productive San Francisco PCO issued 80 citations in a single morning.
That probably paid for three weeks of her salary, benefits and pension.
Who says PCO’s don’t “make money?”
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Transit First, baby!
You cite Cadillacs, Lincolns too/
Mercurys and Subaru
The whole ensemble kind of has a cop look, so that’s got to be good when dealing with all those ex-cons out there.
Probably good for the rain, but the blank tickets might get wet tho.
A Cannondale with a suspension fork and disc brakes? Probably be better off without those two features but oh well.
Town and County tires from Continental – I don’t know, they don’t make those like they used to, moved the factory to Indonesia or someplace. Suggest updating Schwalbe Marathon Plus 26. (As the Euros say, “17 000 KM MEME PAS MORT!”)
And Presta valves? Wow, probably causes the PCOs to scratch their heads when they want to top off their tires. Or maybe they’re told not to touch anything on the bike. (Note gear selection – smallest cog up front to match the smallest cog out back. Nicht gut.)
Anyway, the whole point of using bikes is to sneak up on them trucks to start handing out the tickets more better. And in that sense, this is probably a successful program.
Via the excellent Uptown Almanac comes news of this anti-MUNI bumper sticker campaign:
Beej Weir with deets here and here.
“The bottom of the sticker reads: “ASSAULTING A PARKING CONTROL OFFICER IS A CRIME. SO DON’T GET CAUGHT.”- WACKO 1“
As previously noted, harsh.
“California Penal Code 241 — Assault, punishment. (“(b) When an assault is committed against the person of a parking control officer engaged in the performance of his or her duties, and the person committing the offense knows or reasonably should know that the victim is a parking control officer, the assault is punishable by a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars ($2,000), or by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding six months, or by both the fine and imprisonment.”
So much for “Good People, Tough Jobs.”
Via Streetsblog SF (which is having a fun-raiser party January 21st, bring money if you want) comes news of the new, unofficial San Francisco Department of Sidewalk Parking blog.
Read the cheery welcoming message from the Commissioner of Concrete. See? He’s gunning for you, sidewalk parkers.
The DSP operates in District 11, but you can find examples of sidewalk parking all over town. As seen in District 5 on Ashbury Street:
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NB: When this self-appointed “commissioner” talks of getting an offending vehicle “removed” he means towed away - towed away with extreme prejudice. Anybody who calls in a tow on a sidewalked-parked car on his or her own street should be prepared for possible blowback. (Those who live in or rent out illegal in-law apartments might very well get ratted out by an irate sidewalk parker, just saying.) Anonymity recommended.
Is it my hobby to ferret out sidewalk parkers and then call DPT at (415) 553-1200 for the ticket /towaway patrol? No.
On the other hand, do I support homeowners who think they own the sidewalk in front of their homes? No.
Can one person change the culture of sidewalk parking in one section of San Francisco via a persistent campaign? Yes, it’s possible.
Bon Courage, San Francisco Department of Sidewalk Parking!
I mean, sure, Fed-Ex makes money on deliveries in San Francisco, but what if you subtract out the amount of dough they pay daily to the DPT? Too bad delivery vehicles don’t have a place to park or something.
This aging Ford van got pwned with two parking tickets in one day down in the Financial District:
Poor FedEx!
Here’s the scene in the Financial District – why does the UPS driver double park instead of using the space near the curb? Double parking can get you a ticket, right? The orange cone is a nice touch, however….
Uh oh, this doesn’t look good. Do UPS drivers really try to fool the DPT ticket issuers with the old I-already-got-a-ticket routine? Apparently.
Oh well, that’s another $78 down the drain. Did this truck get two tickets yesterday?
That’s what you might conclude after checking the DPT website for online ticketing information.
Does UPS currently owe thousands of dollars to S.F. for illegal parking? Yes.
But if it’s only $2000 a day or so, well that’s just the cost of doing business in the big city, right?
That’s what the bumper stickers on the little carts say. And here’s the subtitle:
“Assaulting a parking control officer is a crime we will prosecute.”
MUNI Fare Inspectors similarly are also Good People with Tough Jobs, apparently.
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Good to know.
Of course you all already know about the 1994-1996 Chevrolet Impala SS General Monkeybusiness B-Body. This one here impresses not with the size of the wheels fitted underneath, but with the sheer parking audacity of completely blocking a fairly wide sidewalk in broad daylight.
What’s stopping somebody from calling 415-553-1200 (dispatch - blocked driveways, sidewalks, etc.) or 311? Nothing, that’s why this parking strategy isn’t sustainable, that’s why drivers generally don’t make a habit of doing this kind of thing. (Personally, it’s not my style to dial, but for some people, it is - see below)
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I would agree that it’s probably no picnic trying to park an 18-foot-long vehicle at night on the Streets of San Francisco, but your ride will eventaully get vandalized, ticketed, towed, whatever, depending on the neighborhood. For example, the evening dog walkers of Specific Whites Pacific Heights all have DPT’s phone numbers preprogrammed into their cellies. They’re simply waiting to see something like this blocking their path.
Just saying.
One thing’s for sure - if you leave your car parked on the side of the street in San Francisco during the hours when street sweeping is scheduled, you WILL get a $50 ticket.
DPT’s 99%+ success rate at meting out justice compares favorably with your chances of paying the price for committing other similar crimes, such as shoplifting or murder.
Look at ‘em go!
Some areas of the City are getting less street sweeping these days. Too bad! Other areas of the country make do with tickets that cost just $30 - how do they manage that?
If only all parking spaces in San Francisco were like these two…
That could be the only reason why this Parking Control Officer tagged each one of these illegally cars parked in the middle of the damn street on Fulton in Civic Center yesterday. A passerby from some do-good organization shared a few words about how DPT doesn’t tag cars parked in this fashion on Sundays.
The PCO said she was doing as she was told, and then proceeded to write $60 citations in this target-rich environment.
Can you see one of the tickets? Can you see the PCO?
Whenever you feel that parking laws don’t apply to you because you’re part of a special group and DPT has a tradition of non-enforcement, you shouldn’t feel angry when the rules all of a sudden start getting enforced.
You should be happy about all the tickets you avoided when you parked for free all those many weeks, months or years. Plus, it’s a piece of cake parking legally for free in Civic Center on Sundays.
