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Beware of time limited parking

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Thought I'd share my experience since I had no idea this could happen and others should take note to avoid an unpleasant surprise.

Parked in a 2 hour restricted area this morning. Returned to the car after 1.5 hours and drove to my local gym. After leaving the gym, I had to briefly return to my prior location. I parked on the same street but opposite side of the street and left the car. After returning 30 mins later I had a parking ticket waiting for me! For violating the 2 hour maximum time limit. WTF?

Turns out gone are the days of chalking the wheels. The officers now have automated cameras that log your license plate. The system cannot differentiate between a car that has been moved and then returns later in the day. Even if you park on the opposite side of the street on an entirely separate block. To be on the safe side, you should never return to within 0.1 miles of where you previously parked in the same day.

Just beware that this can happen because I sure had no idea.
 
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You should add your location because what happened to you and the technology involved is not universal.

you should fight the ticket and make them prove that you occupied the spot for 2 hours. You claim that you moved the car and returned has to be proven not to be true for the ticket to stand up.
 
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This happened in Pasadena, CA. A quick Google search revealed that others have had similar problems in my area with unfair parking citations.

I appealed the ticket. Unfortunately, from what I gather the burden of proof lies on the driver and I have no way of proving that I drove the car to the gym.
 
I do not.
Bummer, but your pain reminded me of one more benefit of having one. I recently fought a ticket that claimed i ran a right on red. My dash cam clearly showed me stopping before the turn. Win for me the little guy felt helluva lot better than the $490 citation that arrived in the mail. Maybe the gym parking lot has cameras....they're everywhere these days.
Good luck apacheguy.
 
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It's zonal, I presume. I had that in The Strip in Pittsburgh. 2 hour parking limit. I moved to another meter, but couldn't extend it until after the 2 hours ran out. Since we ended up being there a bit longer than expected, I waited for the 2 hours to tick over and then added a bit more time.

Realy it makes sense: they don't care about the parking spot you're taking, they care that you're parking in the area. If you're expecting to be there longer you use a longer-duration parking lot.
 
I do not.



So I've heard. They rig the system to set you up for failure.

Pretty much. You know about the ban on late night street parking? I forgot the details, but I think ALL street parking is Pasadena is illegal from 3am to 5am or something like that. Found out about that one night/early morning when I was in the 24 hour gym. There were ZERO signs on the street warning about this ban, so I thought it would be easy to overturn. Wrong. At the courthouse, I was informed that the notification signs are posted at every FREEWAY OFF RAMP, and that was the extent of the City's obligation to warn parkers. Yep, I needed to read a sign 2 miles away from where I was parked!
 
Pretty much. You know about the ban on late night street parking? I forgot the details, but I think ALL street parking is Pasadena is illegal from 3am to 5am or something like that. Found out about that one night/early morning when I was in the 24 hour gym. There were ZERO signs on the street warning about this ban, so I thought it would be easy to overturn. Wrong. At the courthouse, I was informed that the notification signs are posted at every FREEWAY OFF RAMP, and that was the extent of the City's obligation to warn parkers. Yep, I needed to read a sign 2 miles away from where I was parked!

Rob Cockerham took matters in his own hands: Posting Enhanced No Parking Signs in Sacramento. Be sure to check the follow up, too.
 
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Realy it makes sense: they don't care about the parking spot you're taking, they care that you're parking in the area. If you're expecting to be there longer you use a longer-duration parking lot.

Ok, fine. But they need to explain that on the signs if that's what they are enforcing. Needs to say something like "2 hour parking within 0.1 mile radius per 24 hour period." The sign cannot simply say "2 hour parking."
 
There is a similar system in Westminster (London). They group sets of parkings spaces into a zone. Most zones have a restriction of 4 hours. You can move the car to a different zone in the same street and get another 4 hours, but if you leave & return to the same zone within 1 hour you get a ticket. Anyone would think they generated revenue from tickets....
 
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Reactions: Ciaopec
This happened in Pasadena, CA. A quick Google search revealed that others have had similar problems in my area with unfair parking citations.

I appealed the ticket. Unfortunately, from what I gather the burden of proof lies on the driver and I have no way of proving that I drove the car to the gym.
interesting, in most of the US the burden of proof is on the government
 
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There is a similar system in Westminster (London). They group sets of parkings spaces into a zone. Most zones have a restriction of 4 hours. You can move the car to a different zone in the same street and get another 4 hours, but if you leave & return to the same zone within 1 hour you get a ticket. Anyone would think they generated revenue from tickets....
1. the laws in the UK are quite different than the US
2. yes, the governments generate a lot of funds from parking/driving violations
 
Thought I'd share my experience since I had no idea this could happen and others should take note to avoid an unpleasant surprise.

Parked in a 2 hour restricted area this morning. Returned to the car after 1.5 hours and drove to my local gym. After leaving the gym, I had to briefly return to my prior location. I parked on the same street but opposite side of the street and left the car. After returning 30 mins later I had a parking ticket waiting for me! For violating the 2 hour maximum time limit. WTF?

Turns out gone are the days of chalking the wheels. The officers now have automated cameras that log your license plate. The system cannot differentiate between a car that has been moved and then returns later in the day. Even if you park on the opposite side of the street on an entirely separate block. To be on the safe side, you should never return to within 0.1 miles of where you previously parked in the same day.

Just beware that this can happen because I sure had no idea.

A lot of gyms have key cards that you scan upon arrival. If yours does, may be you can contest the ticket with that information?
 
Realy it makes sense: they don't care about the parking spot you're taking, they care that you're parking in the area. If you're expecting to be there longer you use a longer-duration parking lot.
Makes sense that they don't want you to occupy parking in the area for more than 2 hours out of 24.

Of course if you occupy parking from (say) 09:00 to 09:05 (and have your plate scanned then), leave and then occupy parking again from 11:00 to 11:05 you've only occupied parking for 10 minutes out of 24 hours, but it's difficult to see how an enforcement system such as described could distinguish this case.
 
There is a similar system in Westminster (London). They group sets of parkings spaces into a zone. Most zones have a restriction of 4 hours. You can move the car to a different zone in the same street and get another 4 hours, but if you leave & return to the same zone within 1 hour you get a ticket. Anyone would think they generated revenue from tickets....

I see. But I take it that you are given fair notice and the "zones" are clearly indicated?

A lot of gyms have key cards that you scan upon arrival. If yours does, may be you can contest the ticket with that information?

In my googling quest, someone posted that they submitted a restaurant receipt in contesting the ticket. The official reviewing the case said it proved that the person had left the area, but it did not prove that the car had left the area.

interesting, in most of the US the burden of proof is on the government

Yeah, I thought so too which is why I was confused by folks saying otherwise. I'll ask my lawyer.
 
This happened in Pasadena, CA. A quick Google search revealed that others have had similar problems in my area with unfair parking citations.

I appealed the ticket. Unfortunately, from what I gather the burden of proof lies on the driver and I have no way of proving that I drove the car to the gym.

Can telsa just pull the logs? They know where the car is at all times and that would prove it changed location - just a thought