Yearly Archives: 2008
The Grinch Strikes In Naperville
Just in time for the holidays, those Grinches in west suburban Naperville have their first red light camera scheduled to begin operation December 28.
The red light camera will be located at the intersection of North Aurora Road and Route 59.
For the first 30 days of operation, if you blow the red light there, you will be mailed a warning citation. After the initial 30 day period, if you screw up, you’ll get hit with a fine of around $100.
I say “about” $100 because that’s the standard fine amount in these parts, and I can’t find the fine amount in any of the media coverage or on Naperville’s red light information website.
Curious.
Here is the Naperville Sun’s news story.
Naperville’s red light cameras to begin operation
By Sun staff
The city of Naperville is slated to begin operating automated red light photo enforcement cameras the week of Dec. 28 at the intersection of North Aurora Road and Route 59. Signs will be posted at this intersection indicating the presence of the cameras.
The Naperville Police Department will issue warning citations for 30 days following activation. Once the 30-day warning period has expired, citations will be issued.
“This program’s main goal is to make this intersection safer,” Naperville Police Department Traffic Section Sgt. Lee Martin said. “At this particular intersection, we saw 16 right angle/turning crashes in 2006 and 16 in 2007. In 2006, the Naperville Police Department issued more than 1,200 red light citations throughout the city. Through the use of these cameras at high-crash intersections, we hope to reduce the number of accidents and ultimately save lives.”
The intersection of North Aurora Road and Route 59 was selected because of the high number of right-turn accidents at that location.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, crashes caused by red light running result in more than 800 fatalities and 165,000 injuries annually. Citations will be issued to those violators who jeopardize the safe and efficient flow of vehicular and pedestrian traffic.
Citations will be issued to drivers who run red lights without stopping, those who make right turns against red lights without coming to a complete stop and those who stop after crossing the limit line/stop bar while making a right turn against a red light, forcing a pedestrian or bicyclist into the roadway. However, if a driver enters an intersection on a green light that turns to red before they have a chance to make a left turn, no citation will be issued.
Registered vehicle owners will have the right to contest a citation through the city’s new administrative hearing system for red light enforcement violations. For more detailed information on the program and administrative hearing process, visit www.naperville.il.us/redlight.aspx.
Geek’s Naughty & Nice List
Being that it’s Christmas Eve, I thought I needed to take a quick accounting for the year and send a quick e-mail to Santa Claus before he leaves the North Pole, to make sure he has these particular people on his famous naughty/nice lists.
NAUGHTY
The Parking Ticket Geek: Despite the fact he writes a parking ticket advice column once a week, and posts news items about parking and Chicago parking tickets daily, the Geek continues to get parking tickets. Will that idiot ever learn? Shame on you Parking Ticket Geek! Santa may have a boot for you yet if you don’t wise up!
Booter Shooter: The psychopath that shot the guy booting his car earlier in the year. Santa will NOT be visiting you tonight. Hopefully the cops will catch up to you in put in you jail.
Morgan Stanley/Chicago Parking Meter LLC:These are the guys that screwed Chicago by low balling the bid for the parking meter lease plan and who will quadruple most parking meter rates in one week’s time. Santa needs to blow off his visit to these Scrooges.
Boot Vans: Those damn Death Star Boot Vans can scan hundreds of license plates per hour, and have increased the efficiency of booting in Chicago dramatically. Just wait until the boot threshold drops to two unpaid tickets in February. Booting mayhem!!! Santa, make sure the elves let the air out of their tires.
The Naughtiest-Mayor Daley: Where do I start. Budget disaster, more red light cameras, two-ticket booting, street sweeper ticket cameras, more meters, increased enforcement, selling off the entire city parking meter system at Maxwell Market prices, resulting in the quadrupling of parking meter rates, etc, etc. I recommend Santa pull a big ass dump truck up to your house Mr. Mayor, and dump a huge pile of coal on your front lawn.
NICE
Ticketmaster: A city of Chicago Parking Enforcement Aide (PEA), Ticketmaster, whom I have never met in person, is someone I’ve come to know on (what I believe to be) a personal level via e-mail. He’s been an important contributor to this website and a trusted source who provides information to The Expired Meter despite a strict gag order from the Dept. of Revenue. It’s a directive that prohibits any DOR employees from talking to the media about their job. In addition, he’s made me much more understanding of DOR workers who, despite the fact they write tickets, are just people like the rest of us and are only enforcing the bad policies of our Mayor and elected officials. Santa needs to bring you a big bag of gifts.
The Fantastic Five: A tiny group of five aldermen who had the guts to vote against the horrible parking meter lease deal. This aldermanic list includes Leslie Hairston, Billy Ocasio, Toni Preckwinkle, Rey Flores and Scott Waguespack. Santa needs to hook up all of you.
Alderman Scott Waguespack: 32nd Ward Alderman Scott Waguespack, is ne of the Fantastic Five (see above), in fact the most vocally opposed to the crap lease plan. He also stood up for constituents who got improperly towed before a running race in his ward this summer, and has been working to resolve several other parking issues in the ward. Santa should bring you a nice gift, but you are probably too ethical a guy to accept a gift that might be perceived as a bribe.
Outside The Loop Radio: Andy & Mike, the hosts/producers of Outside The Loop Radio are very cool guys who have been cool enough (or crazy enough) to invite the Parking Ticket Geek onto their great radio show on a regular basis. Santa, don’t forget to tune in every Friday at 6 PM to hear Outside The Loop Radio on WLUW 88.7 FM.
Attorney James Dimeas: Mr. Dimeas is a criminal defense attorney for the law firm The Legal Defenders. Dimeas has been fighting the good fight out in the suburbs, defending clients against red light camera violations. He’s also been kind enough to give The Expired Meter some of his legal insight into some legal questions we had. Santa, please take care of Mr. Dimeas.
Sluggo: He’s the evil technical genius behind The Expired Meter. His infinite patience and belief in the website inspires everyone here at The Expired Meter to keep plugging away. God bless you Sluggo. See you at midnight Mass.
Overzealous Towing By Streets & Sanitation?
Second City Cop, a local blog covering the Chicago police beat, is reporting some possibly shady behavior by Streets & Sanitation.
A blog contributor is claiming they were towed unjustly and then when in line at the auto pound, they heard a bunch of similar stories. The assumption is, with the city budget still in disarray, and potential layoffs for Streets & Sanitation workers, that department is pulling out all the stops to generate revenue by towing as many vehicles as possible.
Here’s the story, I’ll let you decide.
Streets and San Towing
We have no way of determining if this is true or false, but it wouldn’t surprise us in the least:
* O/T, but I guess King Dick has put his foot to the throat of streets and sans. My car was towed from a “school zone, no parking on school days” from a school that doesn’t exist, it closed three years ago. I parked there everyday for two years, they just haven’t taken the signs down yet. Today they towed my car all while yelling and insulting my wife for her inability to read. Well today is not a school day due to winter break, so I guess he can’t read too well either.
Now as angry as I was I could understand it, the signs are still there. I waited in line to get my car and heard some other bad stories, much worse than mine. The first was a family visiting from another state. They parked on the opposite side of the street of temporary no parking signs. while they were gone they switched the signs to the other side of the street and towed all the cars. I felt bad for them. The second was just awful. There was an elevator stuck with 10 people in it in the loop. the emergency elevator service showed up with lights and signs on the truck. in the 10 minutes he took to save these people they hooked up his truck and he watched them tow it away.
I am truly embarrassed to work for this city today, and in saying that to the streets and sans desk lady she replied “suck it up, at least they city hasn’t laid you off yet.” I could only think to myself that my department is actually important, pretty sure the city would still survive if they stopped illegally towing cars…
Leaving there was a line a block long of tow trucks bringing cars in. Today must be a big day for them. I requested a hearing and I’m sure it won’t mean a thing.
We’d make sure to park legally all the time in the coming months. And if you can’t find legal parking, well golly, there’s a whole bunch of suburbs with large parking lots and malls that let you park for free to do all of your necessary shopping. And the sales tax is less there, too, and even lower if you leave Cook County.
Climbing To The Top Of The Charts
Gregory Pierce woke up one recent morning, and the words to this song just popped into his head.
Pierce, a normally earlier riser, jumped out of bed and penned this little ditty at 5 AM.
Who knows when the muse of creativity will strike.
Of course, what better place to debut Chicago’s next new hit tune about parking meters but at The Expired Meter.
Just remember, you saw it here first.
Dollars for Daley
(Sung to the tune of “Pennies from Heaven”)
Every time it rains it rains
Dollars for Daley,
Dollars for Daley.
Don’t you know each cloud contains
Dollars for Daley,
Dollars for Daley.
You’ll find our fortunes falling
All over town.
But surely his umbrella
Is upside down.
Got a shortfall in his budget?
Dollars for Daley,
Dollars for Daley.
He’ll just sell another asset,
Dollars for Daley,
Dollars for Daley.
He’s already sold an airport
And a bridge out of town
But surely his umbrella
Is upside down.
Now he’s got a new idea,
Dollars for Daley,
Dollars for Daley.
Sell the city parking meters,
Dollars for Daley,
Dollars for Daley.
You think that business is bad now?
Wait till after he’s through.
There’ll be dollars for Daley,
But not for me, nor for you.
(Copyright © 2008 by Gregory F. Augustine Pierce. He can be reached at gfapierce@aol.com or on his cellphone at 773-590-3801, where is ring tone is “Pennies from Heaven.”)
Expired Meter Holiday Gift Ideas: Chicago Parking Meter
With Christmas just a few days away, The Expired Meter is going to give it’s readers holiday gift ideas for that parking ticket challenged person in your life.
Yes, you can buy your favorite parking ticket scofflaw, their very own Chicago parking meter.
For a mere 800 smackeroos, you can bring 75 pounds of metallic joy into your loved one’s living room as a constant reminder of their inability to put a single shiny quarter into parking meters all over Chicago.
The only place you can buy a genuine Chicago parking meter is at the City of Chicago Store located downtown at 163 E. Pearson (at Michigan Avenue).
“We do (sell a lot),” said store employee Michelle Diaz. “I had six of them in October and now I only have one left.”
Since there is only one left, you need to move fast.
But don’t sweat it too much, according to Diaz, there should be more in stock by February.
PRODUCT: Chicago Parking Meter
COST: $800.00 each from City of Chicago Store, 163 E. Pearson (Pearson & Michigan). Call 312-742-8811 for more information.
FEATURES:
- A real parking meter, taken from the streets of Chicago.
- Fully functional
- Weighs 75 lbs.
No More Monthly Permit Parking In Chicago City Lots
It’s confirmed.
All monthly permit parking in the seven city lots that allowed it, are now being converted to meters.
As we reported a few weeks ago, Dept. of Revenue was not allowing anyone who had been buying monthly parking permits in city lots, to purchase their January passes.
It turns out it was because of the parking meter lease deal that Mayor Daley was trying to finalize by the end of 2008.
Now all these affordable, off street parking spaces are going bye-bye, and being converted to meters. The Expired Meter is still trying to confirm how many of these spots are being lost to meters, but we’re still awaiting a response from the DOR.
Ask The Parking Ticket Geek – Christmas Edition
Dear Parking Ticket Geek,
How do citizens go about having this parking restriction removed? There is no reason for the city to make money off of this ridiculous parking regulation. There is no reason cars can not park Dec 1 thru April 31 if there is no snow. I can understand being ticketed/towed if there is over 2 inches of snow but on a day when there is no snow that’s just wrong.
David
Dear David,
Obviously, the Parking Ticket Geek shares your frustration with many of the parking regulations and laws in Chicago. I feel many of the laws and fines need to be changed.
However, getting laws changed is difficult. It takes time, organization, persistence and usually money–lots of it.
The most direct approach is to talk to your alderman. Go to his or her ward night and speak to them in person. Explain your frustrations. Tell them what you would like to see happen. Ask them if they agree or not. See if you can get your alderman on your side. Call them, write them, bother them. Don’t be obnoxious. Be persistent. See if you can get them to sponsor changes to whatever current laws are chafing your butt.
In addition, you need to try to organize. Get friends, neighbors, like-minded people together. Start a group. Pick a cool name. Circulate petitions. Aldermen are politicians. Politicians need votes to stay in office. Groups of pissed off and motivated people represent votes. Numbers are power. Organize.
This kind of stuff takes time and energy. But if citizens of Chicago continue to sit back and accept all the junk the Mayor and city council has been throwing at us, nothing will ever change.
Take a stand. Fight back.
Your friendly neighborhood Parking Ticket Geek
Dear Geek,
I have no plate on the front and back of my car. All I have is a registration sticker on my windshield. If the red light camera goes off, can they find me? I was driving my Bentley. Can they find me just based on the very few number of black Bentleys in my neighborhood?
Mike
Dear Mike,
If you can afford to drive a Bentley, you most certainly can afford to get your car registered properly. And what neighborhood are you living, where there is actually more than one Bentley on the streets? It certainly is not in the Parking Ticket Geek’s neighborhood. We have an abandoned ’79 Impala parked out in front and a pickup truck that is more rust than metal.
If you can afford to own a Bentley, can you help the Geek with a short term loan?!? Christmas is almost here and I’m one broke-ass Parking Ticket Geek. I need some gifts for my Parking Ticket Geek kids!
But to answer your question, if you have no plates on your vehicle, the red light camera will just have a photo of a car with no plate to send a ticket.
However, it’s my guess that the cop’s will pull you over for not having plates well before you get a red light ticket.
Very truly yours,
The Geek
Hi Parking Geek,
I got a parking ticket, but managed to get a receipt from a friend (from a Pay & Display machine) who parked in the same area & covers the same time frame. Can I show that receipt as proof of payment?
Thanks!
Gecko
Dear Gecko.
What you are proposing, using another person’s parking receipt of payment, to fight a parking ticket, would be what my grandmother called “fibbing.”
While your fibbing strategy would not be technically legal, it would most likely work, and get the ticket dismissed.
It is up to you and your conscience whether to go through with it or not. Remember, Santa is watching!
Very truly yours,
The Parking Ticket Geek
Hi Mr. Geek,
Is there some sort of grace period for receiving tickets for the same violation? I need to buy a new city sticker and my plates expired last month. On Monday, Dec. 1st, I received two tickets for these violations.
Today, Friday, Dec. 12th, I got the same two tickets. I work during the hours I could visit a facility to correct the situation (I was out of town for work over the weekend as well). Tomorrow is the first day I have available to correct the situation. If I can provide proof of my unavailability during office hours, as well as last weekend, can I get away with only paying one set of these tickets?
Thanks for your help,
AUCOBC (Another Unwilling Chicago Olympic Bid Contributor)
Dear AUCOBC,
Unfortunately, our work hours or habits will never work as a defense in a parking ticket.
If that were the case, I would NEVER lose a ticket I contested.
It is your responsibility as a vehicle owner to have up to date plates and a city sticker.
Sorry AUCOBC, there is no grace period.
I feel like I’m divining Miracle on 34th St. for some odd reason. Perhaps it’s all the Christmas spirit in the air. I’m not sure where it would have come from as Daley & Blago have certainly sucked most if it out of the air.
Sad to say, I think you are screwed on all four tickets.
Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!
The Geek
Ask The Parking Ticket Geek is a weekly parking ticket advise column here at The Expired Meter.
If you have a question for The Parking Ticket Geek, please e-mail the Geek at: askthegeek@theexpiredmeter.com
Expired Meter Holiday Gift Ideas: Timer Keychain
With Christmas just a few days away, The Expired Meter is going to give it’s readers holiday gift ideas for that parking ticket challenged person in your life.
PRODUCT: Parking Meter Alarm with quarter holder
COST: $9.99 each from Spoon Sisters
FEATURES:
- Alarm that can be set in 5 minute increments
- LCD readout
- Holds 10 quarters
Parking Meter Usability Study Finds Many Parking Meters Hard To Operate
Check it out.
A bunch of industrial designers got together and did an international study of how well parking meters were designed.
The gist of the story is that while some parking meters were intuitive, and easy to use, some parking meters were poorly designed and confusing to operate.
Check out the full report, here is the entire International Parking Meters Study.
And here’s the press release.
Need Change? Study Finds Parking Meters Are Not Simple To Use
CHICAGO/PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — For urban residents, the everyday activity of paying a parking meter should be straightforward. But a recent study found the common act of paying a meter in multiple countries was neither straightforward nor simple. This study of parking meters was conducted by usability researchers in nine countries in honor of World Usability Day and the 2008 theme of ‘Transportation’.Partners of the UXalliance ( http://www.UXalliance.com), an international network of leading user experience firms, conducted the expert usability evaluation of parking meters with digital screen interfaces in Brazil, China, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the UK, and the US. Analysts hit the streets and used different meters to identify usability and design issues as well as environmental issues affecting the usability of meters. Although usability and complexity varied greatly from country to country, there were common issues such as unclear buttons, confusing screen flow, and minimal feedback or error correction.Overall, the UXalliance found that the key usability issues were ambiguity in paying for the correct space and difficulties understanding meter instructions.Parking meters that were dedicated for one or two spaces were considered easier to use that those that served multiple spaces. Street meters were more ambiguous because there was usually no clear indication of whether the user was paying for the space ahead or behind of the meter. Instructions were often unstructured, difficult to find, poorly written, or inaccessible to non-native speakers. For example, parking meters in the Netherlands referred to five different screen areas in instructions. In the UK, instructions were so confusing (“subsequent insertion of a coin is a contravention”) that improper use was common.While this study reveals that using parking meters can be confusing for users around the globe, new initiatives may some day improve future parking meter interfaces in your city. Parking meters in Tokyo can now sense where someone has parked and automatically indicate which parking meter to use, resulting in a more user-friendly parking experience.To download the full article “International Parking Meters Study” visit http://www.uxalliance.com/about-the-uxa/news/news-12-november-2008.html.About the UXallianceFounded in 2005, the UXalliance is the international network for user experience. The UXalliance covers Europe, North America, South America, Asia, and Australia; they are ideally placed to lead international user experience research. The UXalliance has over 220 professionals worldwide, manages over 40 testing facilities and has experience across a broad range of technologies and sectors.
Expired Meter Holiday Gift Ideas: Parking Meter Mantle Piece
With Christmas just a few days away, The Expired Meter is going to give it’s readers holiday gift ideas for that parking ticket challenged person in your life.
PRODUCT: Duncan Parking Meter mantle piece
COST: $120.00 each from some dude on the internet.
FEATURES:
- Real, working Duncan parking meter
- Choice of silver, gold or red
- Collects dust and irritates wives
