Wait … Wait … Don’t Ticket Me!

One ticketed driver’s excuse: She lost track of time while picking up her boyfriend at work on Crown Street. Another offered a copulation defense.

Those two recipients of dreaded parking tickets filed two of the estimated 40,000 appeals sent each year to New Haven’s traffic department — an astounding proportion of 150,000 or so tickets issued.

How did the city rule on those complaints? How would you have ruled?

The fates of those and nine other appeals were explored on a WNHH FM radio program called ​“Wait … Wait … Don’t Ticket Me!”

Two contestants competed to see who could guess correctly how the city ruled. The winner would receive $40 in free parking donated by Passport, the company that operates New Haven’s parking app. The other would receive $10 in parking as a consolation prize.

Meanwhile, city transit chief Doug Hausladen was on hand in the studio to explain why the city tends to rule the way it does in these cases. He also spoke of the challenges his hard-working enforcement officers can face on the street: Two of them have gone to the hospital for injuries suffered in physical attacks from citizens who didn’t appreciate receiving tickets.

The two contestants were Inner-City News Managing Editor and WNHH ​“Love Babz Love Talk” host Babz Rawls-Ivy, who, like many of us, has received more parking tickets than she would have liked; and Chapel West Special Services chief Brian McGrath, who used to have Doug Hausladen’s city job back in the day and had a reputation for an unforgiving approach to even the most sympathetic of complaints. McGrath edged out Rawls-Ivy 8 – 7.

The contestants were also asked to explain how they would have ruled if they had had the task of adjudicating these appeals. (People can further appeal a rejection by requesting a hearing at the transit office at 200 Orange St.) It appears McGrath has softened with years … somewhat, while Rawls-Ivy said she gained a new appreciation for the work performed by the city’s ticket issuers.

Following are the 11 cases raised on the show, with the exact wording of the appeals, the city’s official decision, and commentary by the contestants and Hausladen — when there was something more to be said.

Burned Samaritan

Violation: Loading zone ($30)
Complaint: I AM CONTESTING THIS AS I HAD PARKED MY CAR TO HELP ANOTHER DRIVER WHOSE CAR HAD BROKEN DOWN. I HAD STOPPED TO CHECK THAT SHE WAS DOING FINE AND TO SEE IF SHE NEEDED HELP. I HAD ONLY PARKED MY CAR FOR 5 MINUTES.
Verdict: ACCEPTED

McGrath’s take: ​“I would have looked them up” before deciding whether to accept or reject the appeal. If this were the person’s first complaint, he’d have said OK. But not if there were a pattern: ​“When you tell 10 lies in a a year, we can look them up!”
Rawls-Ivy’s take: She would have rejected the appeal. ​“If you’re in the wrong place,” you know the rules.
Hausladen: Blocking commercial zones creates a hazard for pedestrians, especially when delivery trucks double park. But in cases like these the city will often give a well-meaning-sounding citizen with no prior cases a one-time pass.

Sympathy For The Devil(‘s Gear)

Violation: Meter expired ($20)
Description: I WAS PICKING UP MY BIKE AT DEVILS GEAR ON SATURDAY JUST BEFORE HURRICANE IRENE. I PUT 50 CENTS INTO THE METER FOR 20 MINUTES AND CAME BACK TO MY CAR 23 MINUTES LATER TO FIND A TICKET ON MY WINDSHIELD. I REALIZE YOU WOULD NOT KNOW THAT BUT IMAGINE MY FRUSTRATION. IT MAKES A PERSON NOT WANT TO COME INTO NEW HAVEN.
Verdict: ACCEPTED

Rawls-Ivy: ​“I know that feeling.”
McGrath: Those 15- and 3‑minute zones make no sense, so give him a pass.

The Starbucks Dash

Violation: Meter expired ($20)
Description: HELLO, ON SATURDAY AFTERNOON AT 3:15PM, I PARKED OUTSIDE OF STARBUCKS ON HIGH STREET IN THE LOADING ZONE AREA. I RAN IN TO GET A CUP OF COFFEE AND PASTRY…WHILE I WAS MAKING MY WAY OUT OF THE STORE, I NOTICED THE PARKING PERSONNEL PUTTING A TICKET ON MY CAR. I QUICKLY GOT HIS ATTENTION AND EXPLAINED THAT I WAS PARKED IN THE ZONE FOR LESS THAN 5 MINS AND THAT I HAD NO INTENTIONS OF LEAVING MY CAR THERE. HE TOLD ME I SHOULDN’T HAVE PARKED THERE SINCE IT’S A LOADING ZONE. I REPLIED RESPECTFULLY THAT I RAN TO THE STORE VERY BRIEFLY TO JUST GET SOME COFFEE AND PASTRY, AND THAT IF I HAD NOTICED ANY COMMERCIAL VEHICLE TRYING TO PARK, I’D HAVE MOVED THE CAR IMMEDIATELY. THE TICKET WAS ISSUED AT 3:17PM. I ASKED HIM IF HE COULD REVOKE THE TICKET CONSIDERING THAT I ONLY SPENT A COUPLE OF MINUTES IN THE ZONE, HE THEN TOLD ME HE COULDN’T AND THAT I COULD TAKE IT UP WITH THE CITY OF NEW HAVEN. CAN SOMETHING BE DONE WHERE THE TICKET BE DISMISSED PLEASE?
Verdict: DECLINED

McGrath & Hausladen: The complainant’s lucky he didn’t get a second ticket for parking in a loading zone.

The FedEx Dash

Violation: Handicapped zone
Description: FEDEX NEVER TOLD ME THAT THEY WOULDN’T PAY FOR EVERY TICKET. NOT TO MENTION THE PARKING METER PERSON TOOK THE SPOT I WAS ABOUT TO PARK AT
Verdict: DECLINED

Rawls-Ivy: ​“They have to pay to park?”
McGrath: ​“They’re the worst offenders in the whole city!”
Hausladen: Some managers of large fleets like FedEx set up accounts with the city to pay tickets in large chunks.

Dog, Wife, Baby In Back

Violation: Meter Expired ($20)
Description: WE STOPPED IN NEW HAVEN ON OUR WAY HOME FOR ICE CREAM, I LEFT MY DOG, WIFE AND 10 MO OLD SON SLEEPING IN THE BACK OF MY EXPLORER. I RAN DOWN YORK STREET, WITH THEM IN THE BACK SEAT TO GET ASHLEY’S. BECAUSE THERE WERE PEOPLE IN THE CAR I THOUGHT I WAS OK.
Verdict: ACCEPTED

McGrath: ​“This person confessed! They’re guilty!”
Hausladen: Sometimes in ​“plausible” sounding cases like this, the city gives a ​“grace” acceptance for a first-time offender.

“Conception” Tax

Violation: Meter expired
Description: MY SPOUSE WAS CONCEIVING OUR CHILD.
Verdict: DECLINED

Hausladen: In nine months, ​“we can validate that excuse.”

Hybrid Confusion

Violation: Meter expired
Description: JUNE 6, 2005 THE CITY OF NEW HAVEN BECAME THE FOURTH CITY IN THE UNITED STATES, AND THE ONLY IN CT, TO PASS AN ORDINANCE ALLOWING FREE METERED PARKING FOR HYBRID AND ALTERNATIVE FUEL VEHICLE CARS. ACCORDING TO THIS I DO NOT HAVE TO PAY TO PARK A HYBRID VEHICLE IN THE CITY OF NEW HAVEN.
Verdict: DECLINED

Rawls-Ivy: ​“Isn’t there any wiggle room?”
McGrath: ​“You gotta pay!”
Hausladen: People don’t always realize that the law covers only New Haven residents. Also, people need to display the permit in the proper place in the car. And they need to register at 200 Orange St. That said, when people do register for a hybrid parking pass (or a residential parking place), the city generally agrees to forgive one prior related ticket.

Scooter Confusion

Violation: Vehicle on sidewalk ($50)
Complaint: TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN, AS AN ENGINEERING STUDENT AND SENIOR AT YALE COLLEGE, I HAVE REPEATEDLY SEEN SCOOTERS AND MOPEDS PARKED AT BIKE RACKS. PROFESSORS AND STUDENTS ALIKE USE SCOOTERS TO GET AROUND CAMPUS AND RELY ON THEM BECAUSE THEY ARE BOTH CAMPUS FRIENDLY AND EASY TO PARK NEAR CLASSROOMS. MY TICKET SAYS I HAVE VIOLATED CODE 76, ​“VEHICLE ON WALK,” BUT MY SMALL SCOOTER IS NOT ON THE SIDEWALK/A PATHWAY INTENDED FOR PEDESTRIAN THRU-TRAFFIC. I PARKED IT AT A BIKE RACK AND PARALLEL TO OTHER BIKES SO THAT BICYCLISTS CAN ALSO USE THE BIKE RACK. I DO NOT BELIEVE MY SCOOTER WAS PARKED ON A ​“WALK;” PEDESTRIANS DO NOT PASS THROUGH HERE SINCE THERE IS A LONG BIKE RACK AS AN OBSTACLE AND THERE IS A LARGE SIDEWALK TO USE A FEW FEET AWAY. IT IS ONLY FAIR TO CONTINUE THE ALLOWANCE OF SCOOTERS TO BE PARKED ALONG WITH BICYCLES SINCE THEY COVER A SMALL FLOOR SPACE AND WOULD BE IN RISK OF BEING HIT OR STOLEN IF LEFT ON THE STREET IN A PARKING SPACE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. I HOPE YOU UNDERSTAND MY PLEA.
Verdict: DECLINED

McGrath: There’s a lot of missing information. Such as: Did the scooter have a license plate? Did the officer maybe make a mistake?” On the other hand, ​“We do hate people [parking] on sidewalks. We tow[ed] them for fun” back in the day.
Rawls-Ivy: ​“I’d let them go.”
Hausladen: People need to know not to park motor vehicles on sidewalks, period. That said, he’s researching how other cities craft policies to encourage ridership of scooters and motorcycles and to better inform people about the rules. ​“We should be a scooter” city the way we’ve become a ​“bicycle” city, he said.

Motorcycle Confusion

Violation: Meter expired
Description: I PARKED MY MOTORCYCLE BETWEEN 2 PARKING SPACES ALLOWING ROOM FOR BOTH CARS ON EITHER SIDE TO PARK AND PAY AT THOSE METERS. I USE MY MOTORCYCLE TO COMMUTE TO WORK DAILY FROM MY HOME IN EAST HAVEN TO THE YALE SCHOOL OF NURSING. I USE THE MOTORCYCLE WHICH GETS 45 MPG TO REDUCE FOSSIL FUEL EMISSIONS AND TO REDUCE TRAFFIC AND PARKING CONGESTION IN NEW HAVEN. I HAVE USED THIS PARKING STRATEGY FOR THE LAST 10 YRS IN NYC, PHILA AND NOW NEW HAVEN. I HAVE NEVER BENN TICKETED PRIOR TO THIS ONE. I SPOKE WITH THE METER MAID AS SHE GAVE THS TICKET. SHE BELIEVES THAT SHE IS CORRECT. I HOPE THAT SHE IS NOT.
Verdict: DECLINED

Where’d The Time Go?
Violation: Meter expired
Description: I WAS PICKING UP MY BOYFRIEND FROM HIS JOB AT CASK REPUBLIC (AS HIS CAR IS NO LONGER RUNNING). I PARKED RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE RESTAURANT AND PUT MONEY IN THE METER. I WOULD HAVE GLADLY PUT MORE IN, BUT THE METER ONLY ALLOWS PEOPLE TO PUT MONEY IN FOR THIRTY MINUTES AT A TIME! I LOST TRACK OF TIME WHILE I WAS SITTING IN THE RESTAURANT WAITING FOR HIM. IT’S NOT FAIR THAT WORKING CITIZENS ARE PENALIZED LEFT AND RIGHT JUST TRYING TO GO ABOUT LEADING PRODUCTIVE LIVES IN THIS ALREADY BRUTAL ECONOMY!!
Verdict: DECLINED

He’s Learnin’, Pardner

Violation: No standing ($50)
Description: HOWDY, I JUST MOVED FROM AUSTIN, TEXAS TO WORK AT MITLL IN LEXINGTON, MA (I JUST STARTED EMPLOYMENT/MOVED TO THE EAST COAST ON AUGUST 1ST 2011). I WAS DRIVING TO CT TO PICK UP CASHIER’S CHECK BECAUSE I AM MAKING A PURCHASE ON A PLACE IN CAMBRIDGE,MA. I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF ​“STANDING” BECAUSE THE CLOSEST THING THEY HAVE IN TEXAS TO THIS IS CALLED ​“LOITERING,” BUT TO MY UNDERSTANDING ​“STANDING” REFERS TO NOT BEING ABLE TO BE THERE AT ALL. ALSO, THE SIGN THAT I PARKED TO SAID ​“NO PARKING FROM 3AM — 7AM, NO STANDING AT ANYTIME,” WHICH I TOOK AS ​“YOU CAN PARK ANYTIME BETWEEN 7AM — 3AM,” WHICH IS THE CASE FOR PARKING IN TEXAS. I NOW UNDERSTAND THE LAW/DEFINITION FOR STANDING, AND WOULD LIKE TO HAVE THIS PARKING TICKET REPEALED. I HAVE LEARNED, AND NOW I WILL FOLLOW THE LAW. THANK YOU, CHRIS CHANG ALSO, I DO NOT HAVE A PERMANENT ADDRESS YET, SO I HAVE PROVIDED THE ONE I JUST MOVED FROM.
Verdict: DECLINED

Rawls-Ivy: ​“He made a really good case.”
McGrath: I think this idiot is judgment proof. He has no address. There’s no way to collect. There’s no point! [But] the guy’s from out of town. He has no address. He can’t get mad at us. Give him the ticket! Give him the ticket. He’s not going to pay it anyway.”
Hausladen: ​“This is before our grace policy was instituted under Mayor Harp.”

Bonus Question

Turning the program, listener Jacqui Pheanious sent in the following question via Facebook Live: ​“I park and pay with Go New Haven, I continue to get tickets and have send in my receipt from Go New Haven to prove I paid. Why is this?”
Hausladen: That’s the app that allows you to pay for meter parking by phone. Sometimes, the user is using an account with the wrong license plate listed, has selected the wrong vehicle, or has overstayed the meter, he said. Other times, the error is on the city’s end: the server fails to connect with the ticket with the pay-by-cell phone account. He invited people using one of the city’s two mobile apps for payment to appeal tickets through the Go New Haven app or the website, or in person — and suggested uploading a screen shot of the payment receipt for evidence of payment.

Click on or download the above audio file to hear the full episode of WNHH radio’s ​“Wait … Wait … Don’t Ticket Me!”