Here are appeals from ticketed motorists filed recently with the New Canaan Parking Bureau.
You can see the yellow lines.
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“I was visiting my father in New Canaan on September 16th. I parked my car on Main Street across from the restaurant Spiga. After we finished our lunch I was surprised to find that I was ticketed for parking in a no parking zone. I saw that there was no sign posted stating no parking. So I backed out of the parking space to see if the space was outlined in yellow, the universal sign for no parking. After taking a very very very close look I found that yes indeed there were a few flecks of yellow paint on the curb. But not enough necessary to fairly alert one, especially one who is not from New Canaan, that this was indeed a no parking zone. Therefore, I would like to contest my ticket.”
—$30 for no parking zone on Main Street, at 1:05 p.m. on Sept. 16 (Ridgefield resident)
Pretty obviously not a parking spot.
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“I am writing this letter concerning the ticket I received yesterday. First off I want to apologize for parking on a crosswalk. I work as an Uber delivery driver & finding parking close to restaurants can sometimes be difficult. So I parked right in front of restaurant, but I was literally in there for one minute. I was in and out but the lady gave me a ticket anyways. I know I was wrong but if you can please give me another chance! I will never obstruct a crosswalk again. I really cant afford to pay this ticket. Uber is my only job at the time and I am a single mother raising 5 children. Once again I am very sorry & I hope that you can find it in your heart to help me out with this ticket. Thank you & God Bless.”
—$75 for obstructing crosswalk on Main Street at 3:19 p.m. on Sept. 24 (Norwalk resident)
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“I am an employee @ Club Pilates on 70 Main St. and received a ticket at 11:04, not 5 minutes after the expiration of 2 hours. At 10:51, a client came in to complain of a member ship issue. During their complaint, I watched my car receive a ticket. I have paid previous tickets on time and would appreciate this one ticket to be relieved as I am a young adult with massive student loan debt. I would appreciate this to be relieved just this once, especially since the town does not help its employees with complimentary parking.”
—$25 for overtime parking on Main Street, at 11:04 a.m. on Sept. 25 (Norwalk resident)
This guy also parked more than 12 inches from the curb.
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“My car was legally parked in a 2 hour zone. There are no road markings at all in this spot due to construction. Also a lot of dust. The 2 hour sign just ahead of my car. I was 25 feet from the corner behind me. I was having lunch at Spiga and could see my car from our table.”
—$30 for no parking zone on Main Street, at 1:09 p.m. on Sept. 18 (New Canaan resident)
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“I did go into Town Hall—got Hazardous Waste Blue Brochure.”
—$30 for Not in Town Hall Observed, at 12:49 p.m. on Sept. 12 (New Canaan resident)
Really bad job here.
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“I have lived in town for 19+ years. I pulled in between 2 cars that were also a bit over the lines. I have a very large SUV to carry my kids & their sports gear — I was only gone for 5-10 minutes to pick up something I had purchased at a local store. I even said ‘Hi’ to Mike the parking enforcement officer. I did not even realize I had received a ticket till I was around the corner departing Elm St as it was flapping. Please could I get a one time pardon for this offense and I will be absolutely more careful in the future! Thank you!”
—$30 for obstructing two spaces on Elm Street, at 3:20 p.m. on Sept. 10 (New Canaan resident)
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“I am refusing to pay this ticket based on the fact that I was not ‘parked’ but rather only had my hazards on while running in to pick up a mobile order. Also, this particular spot is a common place to take this action is as seen daily in New Canaan. The parking situation/dine in/dine out at Starbucks is terrible and an accident waiting to happen. Should be remedied, regardless.”
—$50 for parking on sidewalk on Park Street, at 10:25 a.m. on Sept. 4 (New Canaan resident)
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“Today I had a doctor’s apt at 1pm with dermatologist Dr. Littzi. I put in 6 quarters. I always wait for a receipt but this time no receipt came out. I saw someone else put money in and they also didn’t receive a receipt so I went to my doctor’s apt thinking probably the machine was out of paper. My apt was supposed to be 30 to 45 minutes but I put extra just in case I ran over. I did not run over. I was out like I was told. I came out at 145pm and found a ticket on my car. The ticket was processed at 126pm. I was very upset because I put quarters in the machine because I am parking in a paid parking lot. I went to the dermatologist to remove a mole that hopefully is nothing and came out worried about that I was very upset to receive a ticket. Unfortunately I don’t have a receipt to prove I paid there’s no way I could have proved I paid since no receipt came out. I assumed the officer would have in his or her system to show I paid. I have learned my lesson that if ever no receipt comes out before I push button ok, I will take a picture of receipt. Please dismiss this ticket, I honestly put 6 quarters in the meter.”
—$25 for unpaid space in Morse Court, at 1:26 p.m. on Sept. 9 (Stamford resident)
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“I’m appealing because I had moved my car off of Pine St for over an hour and then returned and received a ticket within 20 minutes of returning.”
—$25 for overtime parking on Pine Street, at 2:27 p.m. on Sept. 9 (New Canaan work address)
How do you miss that hydrant?
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“Car was idling with hazard lights on and passenger present. Passenger asked to get be allowed a few seconds to move vehicle and agent denied request, as ticket was already generated.”
—$75 for obstructing hydrant on Main Street, at 12:49 p.m. on Aug. 20 (New Canaan resident)
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You can’t park within 25 feet of a crosswalk. BT photo
“I am writing to appeal my ticket as the no-parking zone was not marked—the paint was severely worn off and not visible at all where I parked—almost impossible to see it was a no parking zone. I have never had a ticket, have never parked illegally and clearly would not have done so intentionally. Thank you for your consideration—and sincerely hope that this ticket will be dropped with this explanation.”
—$30 for no parking zone on Main Street, at 1:25 p.m. on Aug. 16 (New Canaan resident)
This column is depressing. Parking enforcement is doing their jobs. Sometimes they are verbally and physically accosted for doing them well. Meanwhile, citizens feel they’re being picked on, that the Town is too aggressive. Some of these stories break my heart. Is there nothing our parking commission can do to change the paradigm? I do not think the added revenue is worth the stress we put people through. I got a warning in South Norwalk when my meter ran out. We should return the favor.
What is your point? For the most part, the excuses people that give for disobeying the law are lame. These people are effectively telling the rest of us that their convenience is paramount and let the rest of us be inconvenienced. Reading this column is better than watching Saturday Night Live.
I agree. Not sure how anyone could call these appeals heartbreaking—that’s drama rising to a level of the appeals themselves.
When an Uber driver sees their night’s earnings (or perhaps even more) erased by the challenges of our town parking, then yes, I can see why Mr. Engel called these stories “heartbreaking.” I’m not commenting here on our Parking Commission policies per se, but arguing for a sense of compassion for people to whom a $75 fine is indeed “dramatic.”
I will add that time and time again, Mike, with all due respect, I get discomfited by how you drop in and comment on your own stories. You often are not doing so to correct facts, but to pass judgement on the situation or the commenter. Too often there are not dividing lines between reporting and editorializing on your part, and that’s a shame, in my opinion.
Respectfully, Jane, it’s disingenuous and embarrassing for reporters to pretend they don’t have opinions on readers’ comments. Let’s not confuse dispassionate reporting with post-publication commenting. The parking ticket appeals are a good example—this a word-for-word transcription of public documents submitted to the town. Just how could that be editorializing? If you or someone else wants to say you’re heartbroken, thinking perhaps that makes you appear compassionate rather than mawkish, that’s your choice, though many of us also find that embarrassing. I have every reason to call these displays what they are. I not only approve comments and write back to readers when they submit something unpublishable, I moderate the threads.
Also, please know that I post my own opinions not only in comments threads alongside those submitted by readers, but also in teasing out news articles on Facebook and in social media threads. These are my own best practices for running this news site and its channels after 20 years in journalism, half of it online—the result of more careful consideration than, say, feeling indignant over a cup of coffee this morning.
A more honest take from you would be that this practice is only troubling when my opinion happens to differ from yours—that appears to be the case here. What you may hope to project as a call for fairness may be coming across as a show of intolerance. I think we have enough of that, don’t you? Thank you for submitting your comment.