Parking Enforcement Ticketing Cars

**Gannon** · September-15-10, 02:24 PM

I've heard people go on and on blathering about how GOOD it was to privatize the parking ticket enforcement in this town.

I've always said bullshit, and now I say I told you so. It has been a bad idea from the start, and a risk of political glad-handling of relatively untraceable monies.

Any and every company is doing whatever they can to maximize profit these days...get it while they can, while folks still have a few dimes to rub together.

Why is everyone so surprised that this is happening?!

Bing doesn't HAVE direct control over the parking enforcement because it is NOT a governmental agency. He should cancel that contract and extend the responsibilities of the police department to handle these things. Create another class of officers who would do parking and traffic/crowd control around special events ONLY. Perhaps even hire out directly to Hollywood for their set security, too.

Why the hell NOT?! Bring that profit INTO the city's coffers instead of letting some private organization skim the top ten percent or whatever the profit margin IS with that stuff. It would be a curious study...

No cheers on this one...I'm still peeved about that one rogue asshole who used to target those who dared stop into Lee's Cafe de Troit when she was open...and the other one who targeted ME when I was running that deli downtown last year. Ended up with over $1,200 worth of tickets that was immediately reduced to under $200 when we finally took them to court. [[I had been holding them because the owner of the next-door business kept promising me that 'he had a guy' who'd take care of them all!) It would've been TWENTY if the first magistrate would've been reasonable.

Nah, the parking situation should be under the direct authority of the city, and they should have ALL the profits from tickets...and their entry-level employees should also have duties as eyes and ears for the police as well as crowd/traffic control status...basic stuff and pretty obvious to me.

No cheers...seething right now. Damnit! [[breathe, must remember to breathe...)

**daddeeo** · September-15-10, 06:25 PM

And some folks wonder why people don't want to visit Detroit for any reason after they get a ticket [[quite often unnecessarily).

**spiritofdetroit** · September-15-10, 06:41 PM

I guess I dont understand the fuss in general - clearly in this case it is ridiculous, but I have never had a problem with enforcement downtown, in fact I dont see them around that often.

Sure, my car is in a parking garage at home and at work downtown, but I do street park downtown fairly regularly and have never had my car broken into, nor have I received a ticket - of course, I am one that actually puts $ in the meter, and dont park in areas that arent clearly marked as ok to park in.

It is a pain to get a ticket - I got plenty at MSU - but most of the time they are just doing their job, and most of the time the parkers are in the wrong.

**hamtown mike** · September-16-10, 09:14 AM

Originally Posted by spiritofdetroit

I guess I dont understand the fuss in general - ... I do street park downtown fairly regularly and have never had my car broken into, nor have I received a ticket - of course, I am one that actually puts $ in the meter, and dont park in areas that arent clearly marked as ok to park in...

Just like you spirit I've been parking downtown for years on the street without a ticket or incident. If we put a sign in every place a person cannot park, you wouldn't be able to see the city. It's simple-park in an alley, you're going to get a ticket. Block traffic, if only to just run into the store, you're going to get a ticket.

I have a friend who parked by the police station in Greektown right under a sign reading "no parking except for police vehicles." He was fuming mad when we returned to a ticket on his window. His reasoning "Well it was after 9." [[there was no mention of time on the sign)

Detroiter's "do what I want" and suburbanite's "oh it's Detroit nobody will mind" attitudes create a goldmine for parking tickets. I didn't know it had been privatized. that's spooky. I know in Hamville tickets are tied into the ticketing officers pension/retirement-perhaps Detroit had a similar arrangement and saw the need to cut those potential future costs out of the budget.

**mauser** · September-16-10, 12:27 PM

Originally Posted by Gannon

I've heard people go on and on blathering about how GOOD it was to privatize the parking ticket enforcement in this town.I've always said bullshit, and now I say I told you so. It has been a bad idea from the start, and a risk of political glad-handling of relatively untraceable monies.............

every single thing Gannon said +1

**chitaku** · September-16-10, 12:58 PM

I've been ticketed while parked legally. It was for "improper parking implying that I wasn't correctly in the spot. Thing is I drive a Chevy Aveo, no matter where I park in between the lines, that little car dosen't stick out.

**1KielsonDrive** · September-16-10, 08:55 PM

Originally Posted by Gannon

I've heard people go on and on blathering about how GOOD it was to privatize the parking ticket enforcement in this town.

I've always said bullshit, and now I say I told you so. It has been a bad idea from the start, and a risk of political glad-handling of relatively untraceable monies.

Any and every company is doing whatever they can to maximize profit these days...get it while they can, while folks still have a few dimes to rub together.

Why is everyone so surprised that this is happening?!

Bing doesn't HAVE direct control over the parking enforcement because it is NOT a governmental agency. He should cancel that contract and extend the responsibilities of the police department to handle these things. Create another class of officers who would do parking and traffic/crowd control around special events ONLY. Perhaps even hire out directly to Hollywood for their set security, too.

Why the hell NOT?! Bring that profit INTO the city's coffers instead of letting some private organization skim the top ten percent or whatever the profit margin IS with that stuff. It would be a curious study...

No cheers on this one...I'm still peeved about that one rogue asshole who used to target those who dared stop into Lee's Cafe de Troit when she was open...and the other one who targeted ME when I was running that deli downtown last year. Ended up with over $1,200 worth of tickets that was immediately reduced to under $200 when we finally took them to court. [[I had been holding them because the owner of the next-door business kept promising me that 'he had a guy' who'd take care of them all!) It would've been TWENTY if the first magistrate would've been reasonable.

Nah, the parking situation should be under the direct authority of the city, and they should have ALL the profits from tickets...and their entry-level employees should also have duties as eyes and ears for the police as well as crowd/traffic control status...basic stuff and pretty obvious to me.

No cheers...seething right now. Damnit! [[breathe, must remember to breathe...)

Hey Gannon, I agree with you about the privatization - it should've never happened. That's a time dishonored way of reducing pay and benefits. But most of my run-ins with parking enforcement in Detroit was pre-privatization. They we're motherscratchers no matter who they worked for.

**kraig** · September-18-10, 08:40 AM

Originally Posted by 1KielsonDrive

Hey Gannon, I agree with you about the privatization - it should've never happened. That's a time dishonored way of reducing pay and benefits. But most of my run-ins with parking enforcement in Detroit was pre-privatization. They we're motherscratchers no matter who they worked for.

Unless I'm mistaken, the only thing that's ever been privatized are the collections. The ticket enforcers are city workers. They're just following orders, the real problem comes from the butt wipes in the administration that sent them over there.