Ass Backwards

Hudson's 4 parking enforcers work for the Police Department; Police Chief Ed Moore is their supervisor.  3 of the 4 enforcers drive to work and park their vehicles in metered parking spaces, usually on 5th Street.  Pictured are two of those vehicles on a recent afternoon.  No one has told the officers they can't park in metered spaces, so they've done nothing wrong.  They just park in the most convenient spots they can find, as close to 5th and Warren as possible.

While these officers are walking on and around Warren Street from 9-4 issuing tickets to vehicles parked in spaces with expired meters, their cars are occupying metered parking spaces the entire time, obviously with expired meters.  Spaces that no one else can use or fill the meters with quarters.  One half of a block away from 5th and Warren in the City Hall Municipal parking lot there are parking spaces designated for city employees.  One half block away.

A consultant was recently hired by the city to look into our parking situation and where to go from here as the city continues to grow and available parking spaces continue to become rarer and rarer downtown, especially on the weekends.  At the most recent Informal Council meeting, Tom Depietro announced that next week sometime there will be a public meeting with that consultant and their report (though I see nothing on the city calendar indicating this).  A few months ago Police Chief Ed Moore said at a Council meeting that he had attended a conference with that consultant to discuss the city's parking situation.  Ed offered no details about that gathering, but maybe next week those details will be revealed. 

Meanwhile, Ed Moore allows his parking enforcers to park their vehicles in metered parking spaces while they look for and ticket vehicles nearby which occupy metered spaces that they shouldn't be occupying.