Nov 22 2008
Would you rather get a DUI or a parking ticket? Apparently in my city you have to choose…
In the city I live in there are laws concerning alcohol. A lot of laws actually. I will NOT go into detail about the odd and somewhat stupid laws and why I hate them. To do the liquor laws justice I would need to write about a million other posts.
You think I am kidding? I am not.
Instead I will take this time to complain about our parking laws. Parking laws? Yes, our city also has parking laws. The particular law I want to complain about only a problem for about 4-5 months a year.
NO PARKING FROM
1 AM TO 8 AM
NOV 15 TO MAR 1
This law was put into place for snow removal. The snow plows cannot plow the sides of the roads if there are cars parked there. You have to park in your driveway or you get a ticket. It is not posted. You just have to remember to not park on the road.
I totally understand this. A lot of city parking lots also have the sign posted. The plows cannot plow the lots with cars in them. It is a no brainer.
What I don’t understand is why I got a ticket on my car last Friday night when I had our good friend Soffe drive us home from the bar. I realize that it happened to be the 15th at 2 AM. The first day the law is in effect. What I don’t realize is why I got a ticket when there is NO FREAKING SNOW ON THE GROUND YET.
Did you catch that?
NO SNOW.
NOT ONE SINGLE SNOWFLAKE.
NADA.
Luckily the ticket was just a warning. If only we had a taxi service in this town I wouldn’t have to leave my car. I think our city needs to have a spot in this parking lot that allows people who are going to drink to leave their cars without getting a ticket. Otherwise this law seems to be promoting drinking and driving. Lame. Our friend Fish did mention that the ticket was probably cheaper than parking in big cities. He is probably right. I just think our local government needs to think about this issue. Last year I actually got this ticket when I got a ride home from the bar. I called the company and got mad and they dropped the ticket. I am sure they won’t next time.
What do you think can be done?
Stumble it!
The stupidity of local ordinances can never be misunderestimated.
You know me, I will not be simpathetic to the drinking people (sorry Bridge). My oponion is, if you are planning on drinking and are responsible enough not to drive have your designated driver pick you up. Why drive your own car there if you’re not planning on driving it home.
I am sure the warning was just to remind people that the law was going into effect. Take it as it is, learn from it, and get over it.
You called the company? So the police hired a private company to be ticket trolls? No wonder it’s so bad. Seriously, if it were easier to get cabs, there would be fewer DUIs. No brainer.
i think there is a taxi service, but i also think you have to call a place a reservation [about a month in advance]… a promenent local bar owner tried to get the city to give him a license to have a shuttle service pick people up and take them home, they wouldn’t give it to him… [i think it is because the city makes a lot of money off DUIs...] the whole thing just makes it difficult to be a responsible drinker. no that is not an oxymoron!
Since my blog is under the close and watchful eye of the Logan City Council I should post this on my blog, but I will comment here. Logan Sucks!
In Farmington, where I grew up, we had water restrictions in the drought years. Odd # houses watered on odd days, even houses watered on even days. Doesn’t it make sense that parking could work the same way? Starting at midnight, or some pre-determined time, the parking ban is enforced, so you park on the odd side on odd days, and even side on even days. Even if there is ZERO snow this is better than a complete ban.
Where I live the plows don’t even clear the entire road for 2-3 days after a storm anyway so as it stands now the shoulder, where cars could park isn’t cleared for 48 hours minimum and with the cars swapping sides of the road the plows could still have the chance to get the entire road done within the same 48 hours it takes now.
This helps the residents park cars, helps the plows do their jobs and helps Logan City resident feel like the city council/police/parking enforcement isn’t out to get them. Oh and if someone can’t grasp the even/odd concept one trip to the impound yard would help them figure it out FAST.
i’d like to point out to carolyn that sometimes, it is not our intention to drink, so we drive to the bar. after we get there, more friends arrive, and the night grows long, we find ourselves in a position where leaving our car is the only option because driving is 100 percent off limits.
you know i love you dearly, carolyn, but not giving options to drinkers because you don’t believe in it is the same thing as putting blinders on. it’s not going to “fix” the situation. people won’t just magically quit drinking. changing the parking laws doesn’t make it easier for people to drink. i’d rather pay a parking ticket than get a DUI or take the chance of killing someone else or even myself.
what bridge leaves out is that this is a much bigger issue than just leaving your car overnight at the bar in logan. this is a college town and there are lots of places where there isn’t enough parking even for the people who are residents in certain locations.
this ordinance is ridiculous on many fronts. they tried to change it last year and it was even worse. they said that you couldn’t park on the streets for something like 48 hours after a snow storm, but didn’t specify what that meant. 48 hours after the snow stopped? or 48 hours from when it started snowing?
this whole issue really has very little to do with drinking and much more to do with what is a poorly reasoned ordinance.
ill share with you the way i deal with this problem because we are all friends here. get in your car and turn the wipers on get all that damn orange snow off your window
the way i think sence logan does not have the money or the means to hire comicioned parking officers (police officers for parking parking maids) they hire a private none police authority they are not officers so they can not inforce a law so i just ignore them and let my wippers take care of my window
Ahh. Utah.. Yes it’s ridiculous. Here was my memory of parking laws. When I lived in N.Logan I lived at the very end of a cul-de-sac.. Well We had company in from out of town. one more car to get off the road. I had a one car drive way.. We all scooted them up as far as we could and the butt of my car was over the gutter part.. I didn’t worry about it.. cause Hey, It was not in the street!
And it wasn’t snowing. I was good.. No No.. Good ol Jack Ass Italazano( is he still the cop from hell in N.logan?) Ticketed my car.. cause”techincally” it was in the street. I threw a fit, But the judge made me pay anyway.. Yeah.. I’m sorry.. it is beyond ridiculous. But if it makes your feel better you guys have way more parking “oppertunity’s” there then we do here.
Wow…I thought California only came up with these stupid things. But we have far less snow to worry about.
Holy commenting, Batman. I’m thinking you need to reserve the UtahLawsSuck.blogspot.com site.
It would be awesome if bars/restaurants could hand out “sober-cab” stickers that could make you exempt from the ticketing–if only for the night.
We have alternate-side-bane-of-my-existence-parking here, too. ANNOYING. Especially when they enforce it before we actually have precipitation. Asshats.