WTF HPD & DPW?

 

On Thursday morning at 10:00, I noticed two parked cars that had been ticketed for remaining overnight on the so-called wrong side of the street, one on Warren and the other on North 6th.  As you can see, the cars had not been in the way of any DPW snowplows.  And because DPW's street sweeper does not operate in cold temperatures, the cars were not in the way of the sweeper, either. But HPD ticketed them each $15 anyway, all for doing nothing wrong in the early morning hours while all DPW personnel, including Rob Perry, were fast asleep. Common sense and logic dictate that there can be no "wrong" side of the street to park on if parked cars are not in DPW's way.  If neither the DPW street sweeper nor the DPW snowplows are out, HPD should not be issuing overnight WRONG SIDE PARKING tickets!  How can you argue otherwise?

Two days later, early last evening, several hours after our 3 or 4 inches of snow had accumulated, I noticed a car parked on the odd side of North 6th still covered in snow. Should that car remain there all night into the even day of tomorrow morning, I thought to myself, certainly there is no car more deserving of a $15 overnight WRONG SIDE PARKING ticket than that one. Rob Perry would not appreciate one bit that car being in his snowplow drivers' way, impeding their important work, and HPD should make the car owner aware of the mistake they had made.  Also, the city should profit from a car owner who doesn't follow the rules, particularly someone who leaves their car -- unlike Thursday's two ticketed cars -- actually parked on the WRONG SIDE OF THE STREET and in the way of essential DPW activity meant to keep our streets in decent shape. Isn't that how things are supposed to work around here?

Well, guess what?  The car was in the same space this morning, still covered in yesterday's snow and still surrounded by snow the DPW snowplows were not able to get to early this morning.  Somehow, though, HPD failed to issue the car a $15 WRONG SIDE PARKING ticket.  The message to the car owner was clear: you've done nothing wrong, and Rob Perry doesn't care that you left your car in his snowplows' way.  And the car owner is $15 richer for it.

Given all the snow we've had lately, you can count on Rob Perry whining during his DPW report at the next common council meeting about how cars parked on the wrong side of the street make things so difficult for his snowplow drivers while allowing the streets to stay covered in snow for longer than necessary, blah blah, it's all the fault of the car owners who don't obey the overnight Alternate Side Parking Rules, blah blah, whine whine.  As he also usually does, he might even include a picture of a car covered in and surrounded by snow that was supposedly in his plows' way (and if you're lucky, the picture might be sideways on your computer screen).  Of course, Perry won't say if the car was ticketed by HPD for making his life so miserable.  What the hell does he care if HPD fails to ticket illegally parked cars that are actually making things worse for the city?

Could the problem be that Rob Perry isn't interested in communicating with others, such as HPD, perhaps even with Mishanda Franklin?  Or is it the other way around?  Or is it both?

The City of Ithaca makes life better, fairer and less confusing for its residents by regularly employing a little thing called proper, professional and clear communication.  On the city's website -- at the top of the main page -- residents can easily determine when there is overnight DPW activity on streets necessitating alternate side parking rules to be in effect.  If there isn't any activity, which isn't uncommon because they do a lot less sweeping than we do, nothing is posted and residents can park on either side of the street and not be ticketed by the police. In other words, unlike here in Hudson, the Ithaca Police Department only tickets cars for being parked on the wrong side of the street when it is necessary to do so, not every night no matter what is and isn't taking place.  It makes way too much sense, doesn't it?  (In our case, I'm afraid, it doesn't make enough cents!)  And it requires way too much communication, doesn't it?

If HPD issues your car an overnight WRONG SIDE PARKING ticket and you think it's possible that the car wasn't in DPW's way at all, give Rob Perry a call and have him explain what you did wrong to deserve the ticket.  Here is our DPW Superintendent's direct phone number:  518-965-5235.  You won't find this number anywhere on the city's website, not even on the DPW page.  I'm told that it's his personal and business cell phone. Go figure.