Parking Ticket Pitfalls in Detroit
September 7, 2011 by President · 10 Comments
Editorial criticizes the city of Detroit’s new parking policy which will extend parking enforcement to 10pm, Tuesday through Friday, and 2pm to 10pm on Saturday. The city hopes to generate $10 million in revenue from the new enforcement schedule, however, as the writer points out, this could very well hurt downtown businesses – especially bars and restaurants. Any negative drawbacks will render the plan counterproductive as Detroit struggles to rebound from a failing economy.
Cities Thwart Speed Trap Ban
July 26, 2010 by President · 3 Comments
Cities and communities throughout the state of Michigan continue to ignore a 2006 law (Public Act 85) that requires them to conduct studies before setting speed limits. Some believe that certain cities and communities are intentionally ignoring the law because they want to keep speed limits artificially low in order to increase the number of speeding tickets. “There are speed traps throughout Michigan on roads where the speed limits are artificially low. A lot of communities don’t want to lose that ticket revenue,” Representative Rick Jones said. Opponents of the law, including lobbyist Chris Hackbarth of the Michigan Municipal League, say the law is vaguely worded and believes cities shouldn’t have to follow it. “There’s nothing in the public act that specifically says communities must do these studies and change their speed limits,” he said. Steve Purdy from the National Motorists Association Michigan Chapter disagrees. “The law sounds pretty clear to me: In order to justify a speed limit, you have to do a study. And if you don’t do it, they can’t enforce that speed limit. I don’t see what’s unclear about it,” he responded.
Parking Tickets Prolific in E. Lansing
June 21, 2010 by President · 3 Comments
After examining parking ticket data in five different Michigan cities (East Lansing, Lansing, Ann Arbor, Flint, and Grand Rapids) the Lansing State Journal has shown how profitable to practice of enforcement has become for these municipalities. Colleges, located within those cities, play a major role in ticket writing and consequential revenue generating for those governments. Last year, East Lansing and Michigan State University wrote more than 171,000 parking tickets – or nearly 1 of every three minutes. Those tickets, on average, generate around $1.5 million per year – just a few hundred thousand dollars less than Grand Rapids which has more than four times as many people. Of the five cities included in the investigation, East Lansing – the smallest – and Ann Arbor – the 2nd largest – were the most aggressive. Officials from both cities say “the purpose of parking tickets isn’t necessarily to generate revenue.”
Expired Meter (How’d You Beat Your Ticket?)
June 15, 2010 by President · 18 Comments
I put in 2 hours worth of money at a meter the other day. When I got back to my car (with what should have been 45 mins left to spare) there was a ticket on the windshield and the meter was flashing FAIL. Apparently, this has been happening all over the city and judge let me off. Maybe if the city would fix the meters it wouldn’t have to rip off its citizens.
TV Reality Show ‘Parking Wars’ Looks to Base Series in Hoboken
January 16, 2010 by President · 4 Comments
The hit reality show “Parking Wars” (A&E, Hybrid Films) which is currently is set in Philadelphia shows the aggressive and often abrasive manner in which Philadelphia’s Parking Enforcement authorities conduct their job. There are talks to base an upcoming season in Hoboken, NJ, and residents are wondering what, if anything, the city would gain. A New York Times article last year blasted the show as a PR disaster for the city of Philadelphia and even tried to lure the governor of Pennsylvania and the mayor of Philadelphia to lobby to have it cancelled.
Wayne County Ticket Amnesty Program
April 15, 2009 by President · 3 Comments
Good news to everyone who received a parking ticket in Wayne County from January 1st, 2002, to December 31st, 2008. Due to the poor economy, Wayne County is offering a 50% reduction in what is being called the Wayne County Amnesty Program. All traffic civil infractions are eligible, however, parking tickets are not.
