by @BarryRafkind in Announcements, Investigative Reports, Traffic & Parking
Posted on August 15, 2009 at 1:14 am
Last Modified on August 16, 2009 at 2:36 pm
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Although parking tickets are meant to punish violators and provide maximum street access to those who live, work, or visit here, the city depends on this revenue to shore up its budget. We intend to find out whether all residential neighborhoods and business districts pay an equitable share of parking fines. If not, why? We will analyze the ticket data to see who is paying or not and for which types of tickets.
This story will address related questions, including : What strategies might the city be using to ensure it captures the parking ticket revenue it relies upon? How does Somerville compare to surrounding communities and what might account for any differences? How have our parking policies and enforcement levels evolved over the years? How many cars are towed and what costs and revenues does that generate? Interviews will be conducted with the mayor, Board of Aldermen, and major stakeholders including business and resident groups, officials at the Traffic & Parking dept., and concerned residents.
How this will work:
- Pledge the $15 suggested amount or whatever you can afford through the campaign webpage. Funds are only deducted from your credit card if we reach our goal of at least $500. (Once funds are gathered, your donation is non-refundable.)
- You may contribute anonymously or not as you choose.
- Once the campaign “tips”, the money will be collected and used to pay an investigative journalist to write the story.
- Expect an article in approximately a month after the tipping point. Depending on how the story develops, there may be more than one article resulting from the investigation. If extra funds are necessary, another campaign will be created.
Questions, ideas, and advice are welcome below in the comments.
Thank you for your support!
Barry Rafkind
on behalf of the Somerville Voices team
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We hope this story will be just the start of a new initiative for community-funded reporting. For more about this, read my April 8, 2009 post Addressing the Lack of Investigative Journalism in Somerville
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Parking fines should be limited to discouraging misuse of city streets by improperly parked vehicles. The goal should be fairness.
Instead we have a broken system that uses parking fines as a planned revenue scheme. It is backed by the state’s power to deny driving privileges and deny vehicle registration for failure to pay. The fines are set at levels far beyond the offense. This tranforms a good public purpose into robbery.
At the least, this leads to a bad public spirit that harms the city’s reputation and spirit.
Government loses respect when it treats citizens unfairly. Let’s occasionally recall that we are in very place where such treatement led to the American Revolution. But we now have some control over our government, at least the city government.
Here are my suggestions:
(1) Set parking fines so they discourge bad parking conduct — but not so high that those who pay them feel they have been robbed. Recognize the fines as a necessary evil, not a money stream to cultivate;
and very importantly,
(2) Cut off the government’s conflict of interest by not allowing parking fines to be used as a general taxation scheme. Allow the funds to be used only for parking and transport improvements that make fining less necessary.
So there’s my two cents. My other $14.98 is pledged to the investigative report.
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I agree emphatically with “arbitor’s” comment that current parking enforcement is being wielded as “a general taxation scheme.” On my street, this tax is being levied with a vengeance on those of us without off-street parking. The City arbitrarily designated two existing firelanes, which, along with hydrants, require 10 feet of clearance per state law, as “intersections,” thereby doubling the required clearance and eliminating a minimum of 120 feet of legal parking on a street where space was already at a premium. The continual uncertainty about parking availability has become a daily stressor. Even service providers are now leery to park in the neighborhood, so each visit by anyone to the house becomes a drawn-out exercise in logistics and perhaps false reassurances. It’s kind of like being surrounded by a moat.
I’m afraid I don’t share the sentiment of a recent SPARC e-mail stating that SPARC should proceed on the assumption that the City is acting in good faith. At least in regard to my issue, which I’ve been trying to pursue with the City for the last couple of years, so far futilely, I’ve seen no evidence of that, only of a single-minded determination to reap the revenues in the easiest possible way, with no concern for fairness or even for adhering to parking-related law.
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Thanks for your thoughts, arbitor and Allison!
Someone else recently made the excellent suggestion that this story include a survey of parking permit rates, especially for artists, in surrounding cities and towns.
In preparation for this story, I have submitted 5 requests for public records to the City under M.G.L. Chapter 66: Section 10.:
* Parking Ticket Data
* Parking Ticket Appeals
* Car Towing Information
* Parking Officer Data
* Parking Meter Revenues
I will submit similar requests to surrounding municipalities soon.
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I just submitted these requests to the City of Cambridge through Public Information Officer Ini Tomeu. Ten days from now would be Sep 11th. Her vacation auto-reply said:
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I would be interested to know the legality of Somerville’s parking ticketing policies with respect to State law. For example, is it legal for the city to issue $100 tickets for snow emergencies on metered streets when there are no signs indicating that parking is illegal in case of snow emergency and no indication that a snow emergency is in effect? (As it says in the city’s ordinance, the city may declare a snow emergency in the event that snow has been predicted.) Also, what impact is the aggressive parking enforcement having on businesses and residents? Having come to expect ridiculous tickets and scary run-ins with parking enforcement officers, I for one, now avoid driving to Somerville whenever possible. I am concerned that other communities are catching on to Somerville’s revenue-generating parking enforcement and are considering adopting similar strategies.
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This evening I attended the Somerville Traffic Commission meeting, and was the only member of the public there. I expressed my opinions as in my posting above, that -
(1) Parking fines are too high and not proportional to the offenses,
(2) Parking fines should not be used as a revenue source, and
(3) Exhorbitant fines make residents and visitors alike hostile to Somerville.
The chairman’s response was polite, but clearly implied that things are fine as they are. His response was exactly as I expected, so I wasn’t surprised. I merely felt I had done my part to inform your city.
I must add that I am from Florida, not a Somerville resident. This is really your issue and not mine. Somerville voters will decide what the character of the city will be, not me.
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On the back side of Somerville parking tickets is a nasty, extortionist threat:
“Failure to obey this notice within 21 days may result in additional penalties. Failure to obey this notice may also result in the non-renewal of the license and registration of the registered owner. Failure to pay parking citations may subject motor vehicle to seizure.”
This is so heavy-handed as to be obscene. That a parking officer can casually punch out a ticket that can result in the loss of a citizen’s driver’s license and vehicle is absolutely off the scale of fairness and reason. That a trivial parking violation is put on the same scale as loss of driver’s license is absurd. This is government misuse of power.
When I was about 20, in Berkeley, California, I saw a sticker stuck to a payphone: “Make no mistake. Government takes your money in return for controlling your life.” At the time it didn’t make much sense to me. I was naive. I thought government was mostly well-meaning. Over time it has become very clear, through example after example, that government at all levels is an arrogant master, not a servant. How does this happen? Sadly, when given authority, many people believe they are superior, and develop contempt for the masses. Then bad things happen to the citizens.
Here is a enlightening story from California about a city government, and court system, and their attitude toward citizens.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/city-tickets-camera-2544539-santa-law
In Somerville, the parking ticket racket is similar. Those in charge have rationalized the high fines backed by extortionist threats, and feel no guilt. They simply don’t care about with your objections, or mine. They don’t care about soiling Somerville’s reputation with unfairly high fines. They don’t care about the consequences to a citizen when a ticket, for whatever reason, never comes to his attention, and who later loses his car or right to drive. To “Those In Charge” such things are not of concern. They simply don’t care. They like everything just the way it is. The only thing they would like better is to raise the fines higher and take in even more money. Unfortunately, they can’t do this because most tickets have already hit the state maximum!
Today I read in the Somerville News that the city wants SomervilleVoices.org’s Barry Rifkind to pay $200,000 up front before he can review parking and enforcement public records! Well, it appears the Somerville machine is your master, not your servant. I find the government of Somerville to be disgraceful. Frankly, I’ve seen enough.
I recently found a $50 parking ticket on my car, because I forgot to post my vistor’s permit. Previously I got another $50 ticket, with my permit was in FULL VIEW. Yet another $50 ticket was issued — but never placed on my vehicle — I might have not known about it for years (until suspension of my license or registration). I was luckt to notice it on the Somerville parking website while checking a different ticket. This is a hopeless mix of mismanagement and extortion. It has little to do with parking. It has a lot to do with money.
I previously pledged $15 to the parking story. With all respect to the members of SomervilleVoices, I have decided to withdraw my pledge and donate it somewhere else where it might have some effect. Sorry. I am not a resident. This is your issue and your city, not mine.
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What can be done? The fact is that Somerville routinely issues tickets to cars that have valid permits on them and then all-too-often fails to dismiss the tickets even though they promise to when you call. I no longer live in Somerville, but now have to pay an outstanding ticket for a friend’s car where I had the extended visitor’s pass in plain view, but the car was ticketed anyways. This is ridiculous.
Not to mention that the idea that your friends can only visit 2 times out of a week or get ticketed (happened to a different friend, same week). What business is it of Somerville’s how often your friends visit?
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You hit it right on the nail: ticketing IS actually Somerville’s “business,” its major industry. The City is too lazy and unimaginative to generate needed revenues in a way that would reap any real benefit to residents and visitors–e.g., by enforcing the routinely violated traffic laws that were put in place to protect the public. Ever see any police presence in that red-light-running mecca, Union Square, or at the intersection of Beacon/Kirkland/Washington, other than after a collision has occurred and it’s too late to do any good? Other towns, such as Cambridge, actually flag down dangerous drivers and hit them with massive fines.
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The parking office can print you a history sheet for all your tickets and their status.
I would definitely suggest keeping records of all tickets and proof of resolution *forever*. When it comes down to your word against the city later, maybe years later, you are guilty unless you have proof.
Unfortunately Massachusetts has given cities an effortless license to steal by allowing unreasonable fines backed up by the iron fist. The temptation for the city is too great. Unless the members of the traffic board and traffic commission are changed, what you see now is what you will get.
Regarding other traffic enforcement, it isn’t a good idea for the city to get “needed revenues” that way either. It is definitely good to enforce traffic laws, but once that is seen as a revenue source it opens up a fertile area for abuse. Just check the internet to learn how red-light cameras are being used to fleece motorists by cities that shorten the yellow cycle. One popular red-light camera tactic is to ticket people who don’t come to a 100% stop when turning right on red — even though that particular violation is responsible for very, very few accidents. This is turning into a real revenue mill, with huge profits going to the private red-light camera companies.
And — in case you didn’t see it in the papers — Massachusetts now charges you $25 to dispute a traffic ticket — even if you are found innocent!
It never ends.
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You make some good points I’d not thought about previously re: possible abuses of traffic-law enforcement through revenue generation. I’ve favored the cameras-at-high-risk-intersections idea, but the examples you cite are certainly concerning. However, re: the $25 cost for disputing traffic tickets, I think this administrative fee is far outweighed by the increased insurance premiums if you do not dispute and are deemed guilty by default, as these stay on one’s driving record for SIX years!
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Reading through the letters here, it’s clear that it’s time for someone to bring forward either a statewide ballot initiative or introduce legislation declaring that all profits that are made from both parking tickets and red-light cameras must be donated to charity (I would narrow it down to homeless shelters, food pantries, and substance abuse programs just to keep things specific and not personally useful to most of the people involved in giving tickets). Parking tickets should cover the costs the city has in running the Traffic and Parking division and nothing more. (And no free lunches or extravagant parties for them either!)
When used judiciously parking tickets and red light cameras can do some good. However, the temptation to profit from these is causing illegal and harassing parking tickets, and in the case of red-light cameras, increasing the number of overall accidents at intersections where they are installed. Furthermore, red-light camera profits tempt cities to lower the yellow-light time in order to increase revenue which increases accidents (apparently lengthening the yellow light time can decrease the number of accidents at an intersection, while lowering it increases the number of accidents). Clearly these are tools that need to be used judiciously and for the safety and good of the people, not to line the pockets of the cities/state at the expense of citizens’ safety and well-being.
I don’t begrudge the police department revenue made by actually policing intersections and stopping drivers who run lights, but this would also be a warning to them to make sure they keep their tickets honest.
I’m not in MA anymore, so I can’t push this forward, but I will mail AAA and my insurance company asking for them to push forward such initiatives and contact my representative in my new district for the red-light legislation. If any of you have gotten ballot initiatives started, please consider starting this one.
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This party is going to work with our public officials to ensure that they are focusing on using parking tickets to ensure there are more parking space (parking lots, etc) instead of them using it as a revenue source: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=106829646018767&ref=mf Please join and let your voices be heard.
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Last week I visited my doctor in Union Square. There were numerous delays, for which I don’t blame the doctor; I always tell her I’d just as soon wait a while and know that she gives her patients the attention they need. The visit started late and was interrupted twice after I was in a surgical gown. I was there for more than two hours and had a parking ticket by the time it was over.
If this were all being supervised by a reasonable human I’d tell my story and they’d cut me some slack.
Shouldn’t there by special permits for medical facilities?
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Re: Kathye’s post: Yes, absolutely, there should be permits for people visiting physicians. Kathye, I hope you will appeal this ticket, as well as notify your ward alderman and at least one of the aldermen-at-large, such as Dennis Sullivan. I would also suggest you let your dr’s office know what occurred, as it will happen to other patients as well, and probably has already.
The predatory ticketing practices by the City must be challenged robustly, both by individuals each time they are targeted and by SPARC. The revenues that are being generated on the backs of residents and visitors who are simply trying to patronize local businesses, conduct necessary tasks, and utilize on-street parking in front of their homes (often because they have no off-street option) are ill-gained and unconscionable.
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This kind of abuse is inevitable in a city like Somerville with far too much residential tax base and far too little commercial tax base, which has a higher tax rate per square foot and imposes a lower draw on city resources. Until Somerville has a source of revenue other than parking and traffic fines on residents and visitors, this sort of thing is going to continue.
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