‘My Child Started Screaming from the Cold’: Parking Ticket Appeals 

Here are snippets from ticket appeals filed recently with the New Canaan Parking Bureau.

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“Delivery driving—had to rush to complete customer order and avoid reprimand from employer (GrubHub), snowfall made it unclear where the no parking zone began and ended. $30 would eliminate a few hours of delivery work. Better parking locations were pointed out afterward.”

—$30 for no parking zone on Forest Street at 12:17 p.m. on Feb. 14 (Sandy Hook resident)

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“On February 1, 2019 I received a parking ticket in front of Le Pain Quotidien coffee shop on Elm Street to meet with Pastor Mark Lingle at 3 pm. I volunteer for the Interfaith Council of Southwestern Connecticut as the Treasurer and I was picking up donation checks from him. At 3:04 pm a ticket was issued on my car in front of the coffee shop. I was in the shop for four minutes, which leads me to believe a parking agent was watching me. I left the coffee shop at 3:12 pm. I was there for 12 minutes and I would have left sooner, but I wanted to support the coffee shop by purchasing some items. I came back to my car to notice I received a parking ticket for $30! This is an egregious parking ticket as I was not parked there for more than 15 minutes, I was there on volunteer business and I would have finished in five minutes had I not supported the local coffee shop (waiting in line to place my order). I am asking you that you waive this ticket. I have not received a parking ticket in New Canaan before.”

—$30 for no parking zone on Elm Street, at 3:04 p.m. on Feb. 1 (Norwalk resident)

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“Left my car for under 5 mins to go down to Elm Street to pick up my phone after I could no longer find a pkg place on Elm.”

—$50 for unpaid space in Park Street lot, at 12:19 p.m. on Feb. 22 (New Canaan resident)

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“I was parking in the lot near Spiga with my 2 year old son to take him to lunch, on one of the extremely cold days and it was very windy. I went to machine to pay and it would not take my credit card. Under ordinary circumstances, I would have tried the other machine, but my child started screaming from the cold and salt was blowing in his face and I thought I had to get him out of the cold asap. I am willing to pay the $2.00 to park and would have been that if I was able. But I appeal the ticket given the circumstances and the safety issue for my toddler in the wind chill.”

—$50 for unpaid space at Morse Court at 11:57 a.m. on Jan. 31 (New Canaan resident)

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“I was parked where there was a sign signifying the area as a landing zone. I can provide a picture of said sign. Sign states no parking between 7 am & 11 am. I briefly pulled up to load an order from Organika Kitchen. I was there for no more than 2 minutes in the loading zone. Why there is a sign for a loading zone in a crosswalk is beyond me. Tried to issue 2 tickets for the same offense.”

—$75 for obstructing a crosswalk, at 12:23 p.m. on Feb. 11 (Norwalk resident)

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“I live in Westport but occasionally shop in New Canaan. Today around 2:30 pm I parked in the meters parking lot to shop at Space NK and Polo (Spot #38) and went to pay $1 for an hour at the meter machine. The sun was hindering the visibility of the screen, and I sincerely thought I had paid the $1 with my Visa card as I saw a portion of the screen say I had until 3:39 pm or so until my time expired. I did not see anything that indicated I had to press further buttons, likely due to the glare of the day. At any rate, I did think I had paid the $1. There are so many situations where there is either no receipt provided or the payment is automatic, I did not think there was an extra stop to finish the transaction, once I saw the time of 3:39 pm. I was therefore very surprised to see a ticket on my car. I dutifully pay for parking and I would respectfully request a waiver of this $25 charge on a one-time basis.”

—$25 for unpaid space in Morse Court, at 3 p.m. on Feb. 15 (Westport resident)

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“I received a ticket during the snowstorm on the 12th. I was the only one at work and could not leave. There was ample parking and feel it was unnecessary during the snow storm.”

—$25 for overtime parking on Main Street, at 1:10 p.m. on Feb. 12 (New Canaan resident)

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“At 10:11, I arrived on Elm Street in New Canaan, Connecticut. I parked within 30 feet of the Starbucks on the corner. I was attempting to pick up a check from a job. I was recently employed at Baldanza Restaurant. There was still a good amount of snow on the ground of where I parked. I have photographic proof showing the distance I parked and where shows no indication of a no parking zone. Do to the excess snow on the ground.”

—$30 for no parking zone, at 10:15 a.m. on Feb. 13 (Bridgeport resident)

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“I am a longtime volunteer at the NC Library (10 years!). I go every Monday to work on the biannual booksale. Today I got a ticket on Main St. fro 15 min over the 2-hr limit. But when I got to the library at 10:15, there were no (0) spaces in the library parking lot. I would like to appeal this ticket because volunteers should not have to pay for parking at the library.”

—$25 for overtime parking on Main Street, at 12:47 p.m. on Feb. 11 (New Canaan resident)

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“I work for the Boy Scouts of America and came to New Canaan for a meeting to discuss how to help develop the scouts and young people of New Canaan. The meeting went well and took longer than expected. I received a $25 ticket. The Boy Scouts of America works hard to develop young people. However we operate on a shoe string budget. It would be greatly appreciated if you would waive the 25 fine.”

—$25 for unpaid space in Park Street lot, at 1:44 p.m. on Feb. 8 (Fairfield resident)

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“My mother, who has lived in New Canaan for over 50 years, had a stroke in October and is thankfully living back at home now. I was picking something up at the Health Food store and puled into a parking spot where the sign posted said ’15 minute parking.’ I did not see any yellow lines on the road when I parked. I believe it was a combination of the lines missing paint and being covered by sand. I saw someone taking a photo of my car from the window of the health food store as I was paying and literally ran out because I thought someone hit my car. I explained to the parking officer that I was unable to see the lines and followed the sign said ’15 minute parking.’ She said it was too late and I immediately moved my car so I could go in and finish paying.”

—$30 for no parking zone in Morse Court, at 1:07 p.m. on Jan. 31 (Darien resident)