"Free parking" in LA City may cost $35!

[Widdletink]

Hi All,

Well, I was in Downtown Los Angeles today and decided to try taking advantage of the free parking at any parking meter for hybrid vehicles. Imagine my surprise when I was leading someone down after my meeting to show off my car (another Prius convert in the making) to find a PARKING TICKET on my windshield!

I was cited for "not having a placard displayed" while parked at an expired meter. Needless to say, I marched right over to the Parking Violations Bureau and pled my case.

I told the young lady behind the counter that I believed that I had been ticketed in error as my car was a hybrid. She asked what that was! Then she asked if it said "hybrid" on my registration. I said that I wasn't sure, but that the only kind of Prius you can get is a hybrid.

She gave me the form to fill out to contest the ticket and I came home and immediately researched and found the press release dated September 28, 2004 from the Office of Mayor James K. Hahn announcing the passage of Hybrid Parking Program. I believe you can find this letter/press release if you do a search at www.lacity.org.

I think that until the policy becomes permanent (I'm hoping here) it might be a good idea to keep a copy or two of this in your glove box so that should you find yourself in the situation I was in you would have all the weapons in your arsenal ready to fire.

I will be going down to the Parking Violations Bureau again with a copy of this press release, a copy of the Prius sales brochure, a copy of my registration and a big manure eating grin later this week.

Oh, and for the record the six month trial of this policy allowing gas-electric hybrid cars to park at Los Angeles City parking meters for free went into effect on October 1, 2004 and remains in effect on a trial basis for six months from that date (should end in April unless they decide to make it permanent).

This incident makes a very good case for "stupid proofing" my car and I will need to find the guy here that sells the hybrid decals. I want to make sure that there is NO MISTAKING my car's specialness by the un-initiated.

I do of course have to cut them some slack, assuming that every Prius sold in the US came to Los Angeles, that would still be only a drop in the bucket of the number of cars that pass through that city in a day. Still, you'd think that when they were looking at the license plate to write the ticket the "Hybrid Synergy Drive" tag would have been noticed :-).

Take care all,

Tisza

[Sufferin' Prius Envy]

HA! Beat you to it!! I wrote in about it, but I think the post went away with the big PriusChat crash.

My wife and I were there in October and received a ticket for parking on 1st street next to the Disney Concert Hall.

Since I did not yet have plates on the car, the ticket only had the VIN number on it.
For proof I mailed in a copy of the sales contract and a printout of the same letter you mentioned.
They sent back a letter saying my claim was valid and dismissed the citation.

Send in the ticket, a copy of your registration with (Prius) highlighted, and a copy of the Mayor’s letter.

Just out of curiosity . . . is the name of the officer P. Cana****? If it is he/she needs to learn what a hybrid looks like! :x

[Widdletink]

Hi,

I am so sorry to hear that I was not the first (mostly because tickets suck, valid or not):-(

Thank you for the tips, I will do what you suggested and hope for the best. And no, the name on the ticket is different. I was at 9th and Broadway. So I think that there might be two parking poo-poo heads that need more edu-ma-kation!

Have a great day!

Tisza

[aromano]

I too had the $35 shocker a few months ago. I parked at an expired meter on Larchmont at lunchtime.

I sent a letter contesting the citation along with a copy of Mayor Hahn's press release and they dismissed the citation. The total cost was a little time, some aggrivation and a stamp.

I now keep a copy of the Mayor's press release in my car in a page protector and place it on the dash every time I park at a meter.

Now that the program is due to expire, I have sent e-mails to the councilmembers of my home and work districts engouraging their support of making the Hybrid Parking program permanent. I cited the fact that the program has made it preferable for my Prius to be driven from work to lunch, in lieu of other big smelly SUV's, just because of saving a couple of quarters.

So far, I have heard no news about what the city action has been.

I encourage all hybrid owners is Los Angeles to let their councin members know that they should make the program permament.

[kidtwist]

[size=18]
Since I did not yet have plates on the car, the ticket only had the VIN number on it.
For proof I mailed in a copy of the sales contract and a printout of the same letter you mentioned.
They sent back a letter saying my claim was valid and dismissed the citation.

Somehow, free hybrid parking in LA doesn't seem to be worth it. If I go there, I'll just feed the meter.

[Widdletink]

Hi All,

Here's an update. I contested the ticket the day I received it, however at that point I did not have a copy of the letter to include. I did write up about the program and also about the fact that my car is a hybrid and qualifies.

I got a letter yesterday from Parking Violations saying that they had reviewed the citation and found that it was VALID! Needless to say I was prettymuch spitting nails I was so mad. So I gathered my supporting data (the press release from Jim Hahn's office, my registration, a copy of the Prius sales booklet) and took off for the office in West L.A.

Unfortunately, I am very familier with that office as I have over the years given those folks enough money to have paid the difference between my Package 3 and a Package 6 with leather added.

I kind of had a feeling that when I received the citation I should have contested it through the West L.A. office to begin with. The girl at the branch that I went to initially had never heard anything about the hybrid parking program and hadn't the faintest clue what a Prius was.

Anyhoo, I drove down there, amazingly found parking and went to plead my case in person only to find that...according to that office, yesterday was a holiday and they were closed! Who knew? The security guard tried to tell me that it was a county holiday and that banks and post offices were also closed. Funny thing is, there is a post office branch right next door and it was wide open with scads of folks doing buisness at the counter.

Also, in Claremont (which is in Los Angeles county) I had gone to the post office before the drive to L.A. and knew that was not true. I pointed to the post office right next door and said "Well, they seem pretty open to me".

He looked over at their door with dull, vacant eyes and said "Yeah, I guess they are". Scary thing is this guy is allowed to carry a gun.

I have decided to send the letter back asking for an in person hearing. I will have to send them a check for the $35 along with the request and will go in well armed.

Obviously, this is not about the money (but $35 bucks is $35 bucks...) but I am really irritated about the principle of the thing.

It is just a good thing that I do drive a hybrid as the pointless trip down there and back only cost me about a gallon of gas and as my hubby pointed out when I called him fuming about the office being closed "well, that stop and go traffic should raise your MPG". Boy, he really knows how to sweet talk a girl.

I may be calling on you kind folks who have also been unjustly cited to send me copies of your dismissal should the need arise.

I am also getting in touch will Paul Demmitt at paul.demmitt@gmail.com to get a set of the Hybrid decals for my car to stupid proof her. I can already see the writing on the wall when they finally finish passing AB2628.

In fairness to the Parking Nazi (my personal pet name for them - BTW if this happens to be your job, please don't take offense, if you know about and/or drive I Prius I am sure this would not apply to you :-)), if you only look at the car head on and never go to the back to see the 1" x 2" Hybrid Synergy tag that Toyota puts on the car, you might, just might be able to mistake the car for a Matrix.

As I was the only car parked on that block, and was parked in the first space from the corner I am pretty sure that they got the license plate info from the front and never walked around the back of the car. Still, that is no excuse, but I was feeling charitable for a moment.

Big ole' poo-poo heads...there I am back to normal now.

I am going to put another call into Mayor Hahn's office today. I called Eric Garcetti's office yesterday and got their machine.

I will keep you all apprised. Just as an FYI, this program is due to expire in April unless it is made permanent. With the upcoming elections for mayor I am thinking that they may have bigger fish to fry but, you never know. After all, the initial pilot program did pass unanimously.

Take care,

Tisza

[chanterelle]

You know, the scary thing is that the parking enforcement officers drive Prii themselves. I see them all the time in their classics, so maybe they just don't recognize the 2004/5 models...

Good Luck in fighting your ticket.

[IsrAmeriPrius]

I received a $35 ticket for being parked at an expired meter several Saturdays ago. I was not too pleased. As I was driving to my next stop, I saw a parking enforcement officer, in her Honda Civic Hybrid, stopped at a red light at a cross street a couple of blocks from where I was cited. I quickly pulled over and ran to her location. As she was lowering her window, she acknowledged that she issued that ticket. I then said: "It's a Prius, it's a hybrid, it's exempt." She grabbed the ticket out of my hand and drove off as I was asking for written confirmation that the citation was canceled.

So far, I have not received any written demand to pay the fine in the mail. If one is received, I will file a complaint with the city Department of Transportation personnel department.

My hunch is that the traffic enforcement officers have not been trained to recognize hybrid vehicles. (Yes, I know that should be a no brainer.)

[Widdletink]

Hi Again,

I called Mayor Hahn's office today and spoke to someone in their Press department to find out if there had been any changes made to the Hybrid Parking Program (just dotting my "i's" and crossing my "t's" here) and was told that the program is just the same - no changes and no firm end date announced.

He also expressed concern about my plight and said he would follow up and call me with more info.

Then, I spoke to someone in Constituant Relations. Told her my story, she asked for the citation number and said she would research it and get back to me. She said that I may need to go down to the office where I filed the original ticket contest form with my stuff.

We will see what happens here, after all it is an election year and Mayor Hahn seems to be behind right now...

I will keep you all posted.

Take care,

Tisza

[IsrAmeriPrius]

...according to that office, yesterday was a holiday and they were closed! Who knew?

According to an article in today's Los Angeles Times, Monday was the day on which the city of Los Angeles observed Cesar Chavez Day. Today is the official State of California observance. It is not a federal holiday nor one for Los Angeles County government.