Bait and switch and switch and bait
numbers change but the powers that be don't know it
05/09/2012 0:11 AM
When I told you recently that Alderman Bob Fioretti assured South Loopers at a South Loop Neighbors community meeting that nothing would change south of Roosevelt in terms of zoned parking, that whoever had it would still have it, blah blah blah, I didn't think it was important enough to mention that the number of the zone would change. I mean, who cares what number they put on the stickers as long as the sticker allows you to park on nearby streets without getting a ticket, right? Since the stickers expire every year anyway, the new ones are going to have the new number. So who cares, right? Totally arbitrary, I would say.
Well, you know the old Chicago adage--that the city that works sometimes doesn't? Apparently, new city stickers with a new embossed number--1674--of the zoned parking area on them are being sold already, and residents are putting them on their cars early and before it's necessary. And when they park, because the signs still say 365, they are getting tickets. The Chicago Tribune wrote a story on Tuesday about how frustrated Dearborn Parkers are.
Alderman Fioretti told the Tribune he would get the tickets for those wrongly ticketed thrown out. I sure hope he also tells those who ticket not to ticket cars with stickers that say 1674 who park in the old 365 zone.
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By Paul Wasserman from South Loop
Posted: 08/27/2012 5:14 PM
And the saga continues with a new wrinkle. I just got tickets while out of town from August 17th to 20th. My stickers were issued with the old 365 Zone, and I had no problems parking in the neighborhood till just now. Since there was never any notice these needed to be changed, I didn't. And now, the Alderman's office said it has stopped helping residents contest tickets as of July 16th. Thanks for nothing.
By SoLoGirl from South Loop - Museum Park
Posted: 06/09/2012 1:08 PM
The Parking Zone nightmare continues. On Saturday morning, I waited 1 hour in line to exchange my 2012-2013 city parking sticker and residential parking permits because they were issued with the old zone number. City Clerk Mendoza points fingers at Alderman Fioretti and vice versa. However, all I see is wasted tax dollars! The City The City of Chicago does not need to increase revenue; it needs to efficiently spend our tax dollars! Next election, I'll use my vote efficiently!
By Stephen Reginald from South Loop
Posted: 05/10/2012 7:31 AM
This is a communication problem between the City Clerk's office and the folks that write the tickets. The same thing happens when old stickers expire and the new ones take affect. There is a grace period with permit parking (old ones are good into June), but folks are still ticketed--apparently some police officers aren't informed or aware of the grace period. It's a pain, but it happens every year.