Here are excerpts from parking ticket appeals letters filed recently with the New Canaan Parking Bureau. Where available, we’ve included information on the violation for which these people were cited, in what amount, and where and when the violation occurred. For context, we’ve also added town of residence for the ticketed motorist. We preserve spelling, capital letters and punctuation as written by the appellant.
Cars like this regularly block residents’ driveways on Cross Street.
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“I received a ticket for obstructing two parking spaces today. When I parked my [SUV] at noon, I parked so that I could open my door and spaced accordingly in relation to the car parked to my left. In other words, I parked my car between the cars parked on either side. The car on the left was already too close to my spot. When I came out at two pm to find the ticket on my car, there were a number of open spots in the lot, so it wasn’t even a situation where parking was unavailable. I am hoping that you can take care of this ticket for me as I always respect parking rules and pay for my allotted time.”
—$30 for obstructing 2 spaces in Morse Court, at 1:12 p.m. on April 5 (Darien resident)
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“I WAS NOT ‘OBSTRUCTING’ CROSSWALK. I PULLED OVER AT GAS STATION TO PICK UP A DEPOSIT SLIP THAT FLEW OUT OF MY WINDOW. A MAN HAD YELLED OUT ‘HEY!,’ I IGNORED IT FOR I DID NOT RECOGNIZE HIM & PROCEEDED TO GO BEHIND CAR NEAR SIDEWALK AS I LET MY MOM IN THE PASSENGER SEAT. AS MAN CAME CLOSER I THEN NOTICED HE HAD A TICKET MACHINE & HANDED ME A TICKET. HE WAS NOT WEARING ANY OFFICIAL CLOTHING AND I BELIEVE HE WAS BEING SPITEFUL FOR NOT PAYING HIM ATTENTION WHEN HE YELLED OUT TO ME. MY TIRE WAS ON SIDEWALK, I ADMIT, BUT TO ‘OBSTRUCT’ IT IS WHERE I DISAGREE. MY TIRE IS NO MORE THAN 10” WIDE & I WAS THERE FOR LESS THAN 45 SECONDS, PULLED OVER WITH MY MOM IN PASSENGER SEAT. PARKING DEPT CLERK SHOWED ME THE ONE PHOTO ON FILE THAT CLEARLY DOESN’T SHOW MY MOTHER OR I IN IT. VIEW OF PHOTO WAS MEANT TO BE VERY DECEIVING.”
—$75 for obstructing crosswalk on South Avenue at 12:02 p.m. on April 12 (Norwalk resident)
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“Am handicapped on crutches. Have applied for permit. Cannot afford this ticket.”
—$150 for handicapped zone on Locust Avenue at 3:35 p.m. on April 17 (Old Greenwich resident)
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“I am appealing the enclosed citation based on what can only be described as an egregious and intentional occurrence. This ticket was issued moments after stepping out of my vehicle and in the time that it took me to walk to the meter and enter the details for payment. The confusing thing about this is that my wife pulled in and parked next to me at the exact same time and her vehicle did not receive a citation. We noticed the parking attendant when we pulled in as well and could only assume that he saw us pull in. In our minds, the only explanation is that he needed to meet a quota and immediately ticketed our car as we walked with our two toddlers to the parking meter to pay for our two spots. I’ve included both tickets here to prove that we pulled in at the same time, which was literally three minutes after the ticket was issued for space #65. This is not an appeal, this is notice that the enclosed citation will not be paid. Your employee noticed when we pulled in, watched us gather our belongings and get our children out of their car seats and literally issued the ticket as we walked to the meter. He should be fired. Thank you, Michael Messina”
—$25 for unpaid space in Morse Court at 10:59 a.m. on April 14 (Stamford resident)
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“I am writing as you suggested to please have this Ticket removed from my account. On 4/13 I received a parking ticket at 13:25 on Main. Street, exactly 5 minutes after parking there. I Had a 1:30 pm appointment at Salon Kiklo. I did park on Main Street that same morning from 10:00 am to 11:00 am. I returned 2 hours and 20 min later and parked on the same Street. When I returned from my hair appointment I had received a parking ticket with a Time stamp of 5 minutes after I had parked.”
—$25 for overtime parking on Main Street, at 1:25 p.m. on April 13
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“I work at Sole Restaurant. as a result, I could not arrive to my car in time to add to my meter. I ask to have this ticket waived because this was an issue I couldn’t solve in time. I currently try to save my money for college, as I plan to go back. However, I have payments to make, and with this ticket its not easy for me. Thank you.”
—$25 for unpaid space in Playhouse Lot at 3:27 p.m. on April 3 (Fairfield resident)
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“I do have a dollar bill but the machine doesn’t accept bill or dimes only Quarters and credit cards. I went to change the money and my return I have the ticket!”
—$25 for unpaid space in Morse Court at 11:33 a.m. on April 17 (New Canaan resident)
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“I AM CONTESTING THIS TICKET BECAUSE THE SIGN WAS RECENTLY CHANGED AND I WAS NOT AWARE OF THE CHANGE. I SUGGEST A PAINTED YELLOW CURB WOULD BE IN ORDER SO TO AVOID PARKING IN A LOADING ZONE. PS. I AM A LONG TERM RESIDENT OF NEW CANAAN. I PLEAD NOT GUILTY!”
—$30 for loading zone on Main Street at 10:02 a.m. on April 7 (New Canaan resident)
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“I am an employee of Hicks Construction located in Ridgefield, CT and working at 299 South Ave, New Canaan, CT. On the morning of April 6th, 2018, I was sent by my supervisor to purchase coffee at the local Dunkin Donuts. I spent about twenty minutes circling the parking lot awaiting a parking space, bear in mind, it was snowing and my view was obstructed by the weather condition. a car pulled out of the handicap access zone in which I quickly rushed into not realizing it was a handicap access zone. I am asking for the ticket to be excused, I do not realize it was an oversight on my part and do take full responsibility for parking in the handicap access zone. I ask, however, for leniency in the amount of the fine. I work full time and I am a full time student at Gateway Community College in New Haven, CT. I cannot afford to pay a fine of $150. Please know that this will never happen again. I ask for your understanding in this matter and any adjustment will be greatly appreciated.”
—$150 for handicapped zone at 9:52 a.m. on April 6 on Elm Street (Bridgeport resident)
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“I am requesting a citation appeal regarding the ticket noted above on the following grounds: a.) I did not realize the Main Street Lot was a ticketed vs. free municipal lot at the time I initially parked my car; b.) After being notified by one of my brothers with whom I had a lunch-date at a nearby restaurant that it was indeed ticketed (paid) parking lot, I returned to the lot and made a payment for $3.00 circa 1:48 p.m. or one hour after I was ticketed for non-payment; c.) As I am a senior citizen living on a fixed monthly income, having to pay the incurred fine of $25 for being in arrears for one hour, presents me with a small hardship, therefore I am requesting that my appeal be given full consideration by the commission + that my fine be reduced to $10.00 or be excused as per the extenuating circumstances described previously.”
—$25 for unpaid space in Morse Court at 12:48 p.m. on April 7 (Bridgeport resident)
It would seem the parking officials are a bit overzealous – perhaps they need something additional to do
Some of these are quite disturbing….especially the family who was ticketed while they walked to the meter to pay…attendant seeing them exit their vehicles with small children. There seems to be a pattern here…perhaps a meeting with this particular attendant is in order to discuss these issues that seem almost vindictive?
Keep in mind that the appeal is one person’s version of events. At the appeal hearings, a very different version often emerges from the Parking Bureau. In this instance, I would say two things. First, the parking enforcement officer saw no other family as claimed, according to his own notes on the matter. Secondly, what strikes me as vindictive is calling for someone to lose his job because you were caught. Why else would this motorist agree to pay the ticket?
It seems as if the consequence of visiting the New Canaan business district is getting a traffic ticket. Given all the vacant store fronts, the Town should ticket more appropriately. This ticketing has gotten out of hand and is irresponsible. The parking enforcers should be given revised instructions. I do not drive anymore, but I do pay taxes, and the Town’s taxpayers are suffering from inadequate management supervision.