They must be exhausted

One can imagine the rigors of the search for the illegal parker and just how terribly tired the champions of truth and justice (as it were) must become. This must be why the meter readers naps so frequently. I found this particular one just last Thursday at around 7:30 am. I'm sure she was refreshed and up to her task after her 40 winks.

Just plain wrong, retold.

Between 3:30 and 5:30, as you may already have read, the city does not want you to park on Water Street in the 600 block. This is so that the street remains clear for “rush hour” traffic. Not having people parking in that lane ostensibly opens a third lane for all the downtown traffic. But since it is not marked, and since the meter kiosk does not tell you cannot park there. People do anyway. And then with the incessantly hovering meter readers, 2 lanes are blocked. Throw in a tow truck and all 3 and sometimes the outside, oncoming lane is blocked. What is the point? If the city needs the street clear it is not being accomplished. The present system is a mess, it doesn’t do anything except make money for the city and for the towing companies. It is a misery for all the people who park there and most of them very unknowingly leave their cars because the city deliberately does not make it obvious that you are going to be ticketed much less towed.

The ceaseless work of the meter reader

The view from my condo affords me a sweeping panorama of the west. In the foreground is the parking lot of the Pick and Save. It is a popular napping spot for the tireless, well, apparently not tireless since they are often tired after their relentless pursuance of the injustices of the parked car, meter readers. I noticed, but did not have my camera to get a shot of it yesterday, the meter readers out MARKING TIRES WITH CHALK so downtown shoppers don't overstay their 2 hour limit downtown. On Saturdays, you can park for free BUT ONLY FOR 2 HOURS AND NO MORE!!!! What idiocy. Let's encourage people to come downtown so we can give them tickets.

Oh, and just give a drive by any morning around 7 in the vicinity of Lyon and Jackson and look for the sleeping meter readers.

Parking issues retold. Part 1.

The 600 block of N Water Street is a busy place during the day. Not so busy at night except on Friday and Saturday late, when the weird club is open. The city in its wisdom has seen fit, for as long as I've been working downtown, to forbid parking between 3:30 and 5:30 pm so the street is clear for rush hour (as if we have any) traffic. In theory, though unnecessary, this is fine. But in practice it is not workable nor fair.

I have worked downtown for more than 30 years. For the last 25 or so I have had a window office on the second floor that faces the corner of Water and Wisconsin. Somehow, and what seems like suddenly, though in fact it's been several years, the parking checkers have multiplied like rabbits, or maybe lice is a better word. One day it just dawned on me that we had a much larger force and they were vicious about their job. If you park downtown and your meter expires, you WILL have a parking ticket. And if you come out in the course of the ticket being written, you have no chance of talking him or her out of it.

Hoping for a little magic or at least mischief

It is unclear what these elves were doing parking on Water Street but my hope is that they were up to no good vis a vis the parking checkers. Whatever they were doing they were also picketing for employment. Things must be getting rough at the North Pole what with all the global warming and such.

Sleeping on the job.

This morning on the way to work I drove past (and hastily took a picture) of Meter reader, car 56 taking a snooze on the clock. Not only was she sleeping on the job, she was taking up a parking space in an area of valuable spaces.

Lickin' his chops

Not a car parked illegally, not even one in sight. So you'd think that the rush hour traffic could just breeze through. Instead, this towing service is just in the way waiting for some unknowing victim to park. After that he'll have to wait for the meter reader finally come and give the ticket so he can tow the car.