Park Atlanta, Ruthless

[mellamur]

Here's a thread jack -
If the city would fine people for say, littering or not removing tags on the their buildings, we'd all be better off.  Why not outsource code compliance?

Because no one wants to do it? Can you imagine trying to track down all the property owners, send them letter after letter, etc.? That would be a huge investment in time and resources.

[angryuser]

This may be next. 

http://money.cnn.com/2010/08/24/technology/philadelphia_blogger_tax/index.htm?source=cnn_bin&hpt=Sbin

If my hypothetical blog requires me to get a business license and start reporting that $11 in google ad revenue, I will start adding many blog posts covering fine tequila, craft beer and mexican beach resorts with a fucking quickness and write off every drink I have that year and that vacation and my internet service and my new "traveling blogger" laptop and my"home office". Screw you, greedy, short-sighted, city tax douchbags.

Remember the the days when the moderators would split off an equally relevant but mostly unrelated topic? 

No?
I could randomly bitch about how fucked up this parking deal is, if that would help, but it's pretty old hat at this point.

[angryuser]

I know I will be in the minority here, or at least in times of speaking up.  As long as the citations are legal, in correctly marked areas, done appropriately, etc. I don't have that much of a problem with it.

It's the done appropriately part that's being put into question.  I'd like to still be able to believe an attended vehicle pulled on to the side of the road with signals flashing deserves an in-person encounter with the ticket writers.

And what of their booting/towing statement?

They will not come to your home, but if you are parked illegally somewhere then they will boot or tow your car.  When that happens I would probably guess that the owner would have to pay all the fines and fees owed to the company before the car owner would be allowed to get their car.

s/company/city and that's exactly the way it was before.
Either pay up on the spot (if you can find them) and get the boot off, or go to City Hall East (or similar), pay the fines and get a note which you take to impound to allow them to release the car, after you pay them their towing and storage fee.

[gretagretchen]

I know I will be in the minority here, or at least in times of speaking up.  As long as the citations are legal, in correctly marked areas, done appropriately, etc. I don't have that much of a problem with it.

It's the done appropriately part that's being put into question.  I'd like to still be able to believe an attended vehicle pulled on to the side of the road with signals flashing deserves an in-person encounter with the ticket writers.

And what of their booting/towing statement?

They will not come to your home, but if you are parked illegally somewhere then they will boot or tow your car.  When that happens I would probably guess that the owner would have to pay all the fines and fees owed to the company before the car owner would be allowed to get their car.

s/company/city and that's exactly the way it was before.
Either pay up on the spot (if you can find them) and get the boot off, or go to City Hall East (or similar), pay the fines and get a note which you take to impound to allow them to release the car, after you pay them their towing and storage fee.

It's pretty much how it works in most major cities, Chicago being very aggressive in the parking / booting. It's an urban area so meters are a part of life. But one hour max in L5P? That's redonkulous.

[Kevy Duty]

Is there a map of Park Atlanta meter locations?  I wonder if it matters, but I don't even think they were set up at my ticket location.  I also want to look into if they've defined, and COA has agreed to, what qualifies as a parked car.  None being attended and running, with lights on

[Go Sox]

Corporations will rule the United States before long. Some cities are fining people for not recycling.

In many cities that's normal. I have no problem with it either. 

Atlanta is actually pretty lax on parking enforcement. Unfortunately, they don't have the excellent public transportation system necessary to encourage people not to drive into the city.  I got a ticket in LFP the other day for that silly one hour parking limit while having lunch at the Porter. Guess who won't be shopping or eating in LFP.   

[meltco]

My biggest gripe with the ParkAtlanta deal is that they are paying the city and once they've paid their tab they get to keep the remainder. I see this as a severe conflict of interest because on one hand they are charged with enforcing laws without bias yet on the other their goal is to make as much money as possible. I am fine with capitalism and making as much money as possible, but when it's intermingled with law enforcement and with the addition of a quota I see no way this can go well. It's like this deal was drafted after someone posed the question, "how can the city make some money and at the same time build a giant incubator for corruption?" This deal would have been slightly less repulsive if the city was the one doing the paying for the contract after considering several bids and all monies from parking enforcement went back to the city. But the way this is structured, we can expect fair enforcement as long as ParkAtlanta meets its quota and we trust them to not get greedy. City Hall FAIL.

[lorelei]

Corporations will rule the United States before long. Some cities are fining people for not recycling.

In many cities that's normal. I have no problem with it either. 

Atlanta is actually pretty lax on parking enforcement. Unfortunately, they don't have the excellent public transportation system necessary to encourage people not to drive into the city.  I got a ticket in LFP the other day for that silly one hour parking limit while having lunch at the Porter. Guess who won't be shopping or eating in LFP.   

THIS  If there were actual alternatives to driving, and I felt like people were trying to encourage those with this policy I'd be a lot happier about it. As it is, it's going to KILL areas like L5P with no positive whatsoever.

And yeah, the blogger tax. don't get me started. They're considered as needing a business license if their blog format is CAPABLE of hosting ads, regardless of whether the individual blogger chooses to do so.

[Kevy Duty]

I'll have to request a court hearing to dispute the ticket.

I believe I have a case.  I was picking up or dropping off a student in a loading zone (along with a parade of other GSU people).  That is the only thing I do in that area and I never leave my vehicle when I do it.  Technically, I was not "parked" there, I believe the proper term for that action is "standing".  Park Atlanta did not issue a citation at the scene and time of the violation.  For all intents and purposes, this could have been a disabled vehicle stranded in that location.  Does Park Atlanta simply note a tag number and write a ticket in that instance as well?

My first notification of the violation came in the mail, 9 months after the date that it was noted, as a notice of an unpaid parking citation.  I've used that loading area numerous times.  Should I be expecting a slew of these late term notices in my mailbox??!?  Given the amount of times I've violated that location I'm shocked that Park Atlanta hasn't already snuck in here in the middle of the night, booted all four tires, towed and strung my truck up by it's left rear wheel from the ceiling of some warehouse south of town!!!

My first hurdle is that the city allows 14 days to dispute a citation and it is now 9 months later.  I'll be entering 08/24/10 on the form for my "Issue Date" and see if that will get me into a courtroom.

[Shamamama]

You should also call Natalyn's office (if she's your councilperson). 

[jeffrey]

I'll have to request a court hearing to dispute the ticket.

I believe I have a case.  I was picking up or dropping off a student in a loading zone (along with a parade of other GSU people).  That is the only thing I do in that area and I never leave my vehicle when I do it.  Technically, I was not "parked" there, I believe the proper term for that action is "standing".  Park Atlanta did not issue a citation at the scene and time of the violation.  For all intents and purposes, this could have been a disabled vehicle stranded in that location.  Does Park Atlanta simply note a tag number and write a ticket in that instance as well?

My first notification of the violation came in the mail, 9 months after the date that it was noted, as a notice of an unpaid parking citation.  I've used that loading area numerous times.  Should I be expecting a slew of these late term notices in my mailbox??!?  Given the amount of times I've violated that location I'm shocked that Park Atlanta hasn't already snuck in here in the middle of the night, booted all four tires, towed and strung my truck up by it's left rear wheel from the ceiling of some warehouse south of town!!!

My first hurdle is that the city allows 14 days to dispute a citation and it is now 9 months later.  I'll be entering 08/24/10 on the form for my "Issue Date" and see if that will get me into a courtroom.

I can find no website for Park Atlanta nor any official description of the methods that they've been authorized by the city to use online.

http://www.parkatlanta.org/

[Kevy Duty]

Haha. Thanks.  I don't know why a Google search wouldn't bring that for me.

[Kevy Duty]

Great!  The site does have a dispute form to initiate a review before the need for a court hearing.  I'll chalk one up for them for that one.  I didn't see anything about a time limitation, so, we'll see how this goes.  Hopefully it's not another 9 months until they get back to me.

[pencil icon]

According to the news last night, changes are coming.

http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpp/news/local_news/new-parking-zones-in-effect-atlanta-20100825-es

[JBB]

S disputed her L5P ticket and it "went away."  I don't think she ever got any notice of such, but she checked the status of her ticket online a week or two later and it was no longer statused as "due."

These guys are casting a wide net and aren't sweating the little ones that get away.

Also, there's notice signage in my part of downtown that says they'll switch from 24/7 enforcement to 7am-7pm Mon-Sat enforcement in what they're calling a "Government/Business district."  This will be effective in September.  No word on whether the street signage will indicate that payment is expected in exchange for parking. 

Great!  The site does have a dispute form to initiate a review before the need for a court hearing.  I'll chalk one up for them for that one.  I didn't see anything about a time limitation, so, we'll see how this goes.  Hopefully not another 9 months until they get back to me.