A news camera in San Francisco captured the moment Larry Reed found his latest parking ticket.
“One-hundred-and-eight dollars for parking in my driveway,” the senior noted to NBC Bay Area in a story published July 14.
Reed and several of his Mission District neighbors are speaking out after receiving hundreds of dollars in fines for allegedly parking in a manner that obstructs the sidewalk. But the residents insist they’re parking on their property and aren’t causing any problems.
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Meanwhile, the city’s parking authority told NBC Bay Area that officers are simply responding to complaints submitted to the 3-1-1 system.
"The thing is, it’s never happened until this year,” Reed said. “So, it seems to be somebody who’s newly moved in.”
Documenting the unusual details
Some neighbors suspect there’s somebody out there gaming the system and costing them money.
“We don’t know what the deal is. It’s just, when we park on the driveway, we get a notice,” Yolanda Francisco told NBC Bay Area. “It’s been reported to 3-1-1 multiple times, but one picture multiple times.”
Complaints, plus accompanying photos, can be tracked online. Francisco’s son-in-law, David Chen, says he noticed a pattern after receiving a citation of his own.
“So, I don’t know when these photos were taken, but somebody obviously has a collection of these and is just re-posting them,” he told NBC Bay Area.
Chen was walking by when Reed found his latest parking ticket. The length of the vehicle appears to partly cover the sidewalk, but he says it’s not enough to be problematic.
"There’s, like, 10 feet of open space,” Chen said. “It’s not causing a problem for anyone with accessibility issues. It’s literally somebody making themselves feel good by submitting it, trolling us, getting us tickets."
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Turning off the flood of tickets
Reed has attempted to appeal to the neighborhood parking complainer by posting letters on lightposts in the area, asking the person to simply call him instead if and when his car is bothering them so that he can move it. While this hadn’t yet yielded results, there are some other steps that Reed and his neighbors can take to avoid parking these parking fines.
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency allows citizens to protest parking violation citations within 21 days of the date the ticket was issued, either by mail or online. They ask that if you plan to protest your citation, you should refrain from paying your ticket. As part of the submission, Reed and his neighbors can upload their own photos of their parking, and any other evidence that supports their claim. The parking citation is then placed on hold and reviewed within 90 days.
If this first protest is denied, they have the option to request an administrative hearing within 25 days of the decision.
There are also programs in place to help the city’s low-income residents pay for citations via payment plans or reduced fees.
If parking in your neighborhood is similarly tight, you can avoid tickets by staying on top of the local parking bylaws, so that if anything changes, you’re aware. Also, take into account the road allowance and ensure your vehicle isn’t blocking the sidewalk, even partially. If you live in a neighborhood where driveways are short, you may even consider measuring how much space you have before you buy a new car.
Finally, getting to know your neighbors may be a safeguard against any complaints. If you’re on friendly terms, a neighbor may feel more comfortable reaching out to you directly if they have an issue, rather than going through official channels.
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