Think twice before visiting Atlanta

I was bit by the ParkAtlanta f***ers again! I live in the city and eat virtually every meal within the borders but I'll be damned if I'll patronize any place any longer if I have to park on the street.

It's my own damn fault but after paying for 3 hours parking and realizing my time was up those pedophiles had ticketed me within three minutes of the meter expiring. (I checked my watch & was out there within 10 minutes to put more money in--too late.)

It's just not worth the hassle. Find off-street parking. Go to a different restaurant. Skip the show. Vote with your wallet and don't be a dumbass like me.



Obviously the meters tell them of vehicles about to expire and they swing by so that they're at the wait when it happens. Lesson (really) learned.

Cheers,
Jeff

In DC the pricks stand there and watch the meter wind down. I've even seen one of the try to block someone to keep them occupied until the meter runs down.

Parking enforcement in Atlanta sucks, have been ticketed myself. When the city turned this over to a private company things went downhill.

I guess we all know how Cool Hand Luke got sent to the chain gang......

http://bldgblog.blogspot.com/2012/02/whered-road-go-cool-hand-luke-1967.html


and none of us can blame him now.....
start carrying a pipe cutter in the saddle bag, and brush up on saying "Still shakin' dat tree Boss...Still shakin'.."




http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_12602755?source=rss

add Tybee Island to that list too! There is absolutely no place there to park that you are not ticketed unless inside a private residence.

If you got a ticket after 10 minutes would you complain?

You pay for a certain amount of time you get to park for a certain amount of time. You go over, you risk a fine.

Yes it sucks to get a ticket but unless it is a defective ticket, parking violations are your fault. Not the city where you park.

More and more communities are going broke. They need the money. They do not mind taking advantage of those who plan poorly.

Oh, and yes, I get the occasional parking ticket. More often though, I escape the ticket that I deserve just buy sheer luck.

Yea, usually. In DC it's a whole other story. Let me tell you three of my favorites.

#1 - meter is broken and won't take money. I leave a note on the meter, and on my windshield. I call in the meter # as broken. I get a ticket anyway. I appeal the ticket, the repair records show the meter was not working when I was written up, and they dismiss the ticket. DC sends my record to the debt collectors anyway, so although my ticket was dismissed, I have to pay twice the fine plus administrative fees to get the debt collection agency from dinging my credit report.

#2 - parking all day in a neighborhood. No meters. DC installs meters THAT DAY, and as soon as they pour the cement and plant the meter, I get ticketed! No signs, no warning, no grace period, no nothing. They should just have mobile meters on a wagon and tow them around to cars they want to ticket.

#3 - neighborhood parking permits. I have one on my windshield. Blind DC metermaid writes me a ticket anyway. I appeal. They say in order to appeal that, I have to scrape off and bring in my neighborhood parking permit! They won't trust the photograph of my car with the permit in the windshield. So I scrape it off, take it in, get the ticket dismissed, and guess what? They keep your permit for evidence, and you have to go to the DMV next door and buy a new permit! No shit. The permit was as much as the ticket fine. So about 3 weeks later, when the court called me and said they had lost the evidence, and I had to produce another neighborhood parking permit, I just said uncle and paid the wrong ticket.

I learned my lesson. Now I just budget $300-$400 a year for DC's crazy parking folks. I never appeal anything, I just send in a check. It's not worth your time to go to a hearing and find yourself in a Kafka novel.

Atlanta's got nothing on DC.

Hahaha, that was good! So true. I have to tell ya, you should move to Baltimore, I park wherever I feel like, split lanes and generally ride any way I see fit- without being too much of an a-hole about it. The other day I was zipping between cages downtown only to be met by a traffic cop (who was stopping the traffic I was flowing in) and that cop pointed at me and waved me through! Only downside is that bikes get stolen all the time and you could get jumped anywhere away from Fells Point and The Habour. I was pissed when they taped a ticket on my handlebar in Philly, and then I got another one 20min later. Next time around I just parked out of the way on the side walk and never got a ticket again.
Cops here think you are an outstanding citizen if you actually have a helmet and a plate and aren't ripping a 250cc smoker on the side walk.

Excuse me, why are they going broke....because they plan poorly!!!!!! Don't worry I have a job and can make more and I will just keep giving!!!!

^^^^THIS^^^^ I wish ADV had a (Like) tab.

That's why I moved to the country, at this point I'm used to obese women, city living just sucks.

am i the onlyone, just tired of being fleeced, just because you own a vehicle ? and thats all it is its not my fault our elected officials cant follow a budget they swore to keep ..

how many times do you have to pay road taxes , registrations , fuel and tire taxes , local parking permit fees and then have the nuts to say thats not enough they need parking meters to park in a town you already paid for ?

Also add toll roads in some states!! :huh

I was about to say this happened 20 years ago, but I reckon it's a little over 25. Old age! :eek1

I parked in park and ride lot for Metro. Came home from work to see a ticket on my car for expired tags. Thing was, my tag hadn't expired!

Went to some sort of parking dispute resolution thing. Not-exactly-court. I heard some amazing stories as the other folks disputed their tickets. Kafka indeed. They did agree that my ticket was invalid.

What can they do to you if you don't pay? I go tone in my brothers truck eating at marymac's on Ponce. I'm not a regular there so I said screw it.Like 70 bucks for 20 minutes parking. Got a camera ticket in Cobb a few years ago as well. Damn NAZI FAG city. I bought a chevette once for a 160 bucks. 70 dollolar parking tickets? Armed revolt becomes more sane daily!

So is parking enforcement a method to regulate parking or create revenue? I never use the damn things if I can help it. Virginia Beach is also a pain in the ass!

PARKAtlanta is ALL about revenue, no question about it. They are a private firm who pays Atlanta a little over $5 Million a year to get the rights to collect parking revenue and issue citations for thousands of street parking spots in Atlanta. That means THEY, not the city, collects (and keeps) every quarter, dime, or credit card swipe, and THEY collect (and keep) every parking citation. The City of Atlanta gets just the $5 million annually. PARKAtlanta was on track in 2012 to collect almost 5 million in just citations, plus all of the actual parking fees which was expected to be between 5 and 6 million.

I work in the Midtown section, and I see these parking vultures lurking all the time. Luckily for me, my company has a bike cage in the parking deck that I get to use at no charge. I actually ride the bus to work, but I keep my Yamaha Zuma scooter there to go zipping around on errands at lunch.

If you feel the need to come ITP for a bite, head to East Atlanta Village. All the free parking you could want. Every time the man (parkatlanta) tries, the EAVers tell him to take a hike.

That depends on the jurisdiction.

In DC, they made the decision to try to decrease automotive congestion by raising meter fees. This would encourage people to find alternative means of transportation and free up limited parking.

It worked. (At least partially. I do not know if the revenue has remained consistantly or if pollution has decreased.)

More people are taking metro, riding bikes, scooters and motorcycles, taking cabs, walking, etc. and there is more car parking available for someone to come into town and park for less than 2 hours.

Parking control also helps commuters in and out of the city by freeing up lanes during the 2 daily commuting hours.