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ChineseA rant about car-cultured laziness
Copied below is a letter from today’s Long Beach Press-Telegram:
Wrong kind of ticket
The Naples Boat Parade draws thousands of people into a confined area in a unique expression of yuletide spirit. We think it is unequaled in Southern California.
Over the years the Long Beach Police Department has tacitly waived the usual parking restrictions as a practical expression of reality in allowing these families a chance to witness the holiday celebration. After all, it’s only one night a year. This year, however, the LBPD saw fit to reverse this welcoming gesture by issuing parking tickets. As a resident of Naples for many years, I consider these actions shameful. What about next year? Has this wonderful event turned into just another revenue opportunity?
Kristine Zirretta
Long Beach
What’s wrong here?
1) She thought that because she got away with parking illegally before, she had a right to do it again.
2) She never considered the fact that Naples is served by 3 bus lines (A, D, and 131, with the 171 close by, a bike path (class 3), and a ferry (the AquaLink).
3) But maybe public transit makes no sense, because no line takes her from her home to the parade. Why? Because she’s a resident of Naples. That’s right–she already lives at the destination, and still took her car. If you’ve been to Naples, you’d know that this is a micro-sized neighborhood. It’s a tiny island, and the Boat Parade encircles the damn thing. There is no point on the island more than a quarter mile from the shore. And it’s extremely pedestrian friendly, as far as neighborhoods go.
Discussion
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Where does it say she got a ticket? Classic anti-auto tirade there Raphael.
Actually, she didn’t say that she drove at all.
I inferred it from this sentence:
A reasonable assumption, I believe. But I take your point that she may have been expressing grief and sympathy for people illegally parking in her neighborhood.
I don’t think it was an anti-auto tirade as much as a tirade against people who assume cars are the only option.
Now now Raphael. You accused her of being a motorist, illegally parking in the past, illegally parking at a civic event, having an attitude of entitlement, being ignorant of transit alternatives, and driving to an event in her own neighborhood. There’s nothing in her letter even remotely indicating any of those things. I should know. People do the same thing to my comments all the time. I even held off pointing out what I saw to see if anyone else would take up the cause of reading what was actually written rather than what critics wish had been written.
The correct thing is to give give Ms Zirretta the benefit of the doubt unless more facts are forthcoming and to apologize in any case for jumping to unfounded conclusions.
Or she could have wrote about the OTHER options people have instead of driving.
I’ve clarified the assumptions I made from her letter, and I stand by my interpretation.
While she does not state anywhere that SHE drove to these events, there is still car entitlement expressed in her letter.
Why should motorists get to break the law any more than any one else just because they don’t want to ride transit to the event or deal with the hassle of parking farther away, because they don’t want to get there early enough to get a legal parking space.
For the motorists doing the parking, there is tremendous amounts of entitlement in thinking, “I have a right to drive and park here just because I want to and they should make an exception for me.”
I think the the police are right to give out parking tickets to people who break the law. Folks who want a guaranteed legal parking space should show up early or plan to have to park farther away or take transit in.
However, if Mrs. Ziretta really believes the parking laws should be suspended for that event, that is something that should be taken up by the appropriate elected local authority. She should lobby that council to pass a special ordinance for that one event if she feels that strongly about it.
I’d lobby the city council to tell the motorists to lump it and either get there earlier, or plan a long walk or take transit instead.
We also don’t know what these tickets were for. Did these cars park in red zones? Did they park in neighborhoods where a permit is required? Is it fair for visitors to take away parking spaces from residents who are not going to the event and live nearby?
That’s an issue for the Long Beach City Council.
I took transit all the way out to Coney Island for the annual Mermaid Parade. No one gets to break the parking laws just because they feel entitled to drive an automobile to an event.
The ONLY issues at hand is whether or not these same tickets would have been issued on any other day, and whether there was sufficient signage to state the parking restrictions. If so, then the tickets are fine.
Good point Dan. I think it wouldn’t be a big deal if the city officially suspended fines for one day. I’m not sure I’d vote for it, but I’m not on City Council!
I’m pretty sure we are all on the same page on this one: Parking enforcement is right to ticket illegally parked cars. If the parking restrictions are unfair, they should be removed, not ignored. (Do we agree on that, Rob?).
I also feel that the various transit agencies have been falling short in promoting themselves as an alternative to get to major events. I don’t think I’ve seen the MTA promote itself as a way to get to the Rose Parade, for example.
Let me correct myself:
MTA has a special “Tournament Train” on the Gold Line to get people to the parade without a car.
Now, if only people knew about it!
Within the realm of Metro I have seen them advertising it. They have fliers in the buses (at least all the buses I was on today), and on Transit TV. I actually first noticed the all-night Metro Rail service on one of Metro’s Press Releases.