Do These Cars Appear To Be Abandoned To You? (What's Another $15 Ticket or 30?)

During last month's so-called SAFETY Committee meeting, I tried my best to find out why the Hudson Police Department tickets cars parked overnight on the so-called WRONG SIDE of the street when there is no DPW sweeper or plow activity happening.  After all, if a parked car isn't in the way of DPW activity in the early morning hours while HPD is issuing $15 WRONG SIDE parking tickets, how can there be a WRONG side of the street to be parked on?  No one is doing anything WRONG by leaving their car parked on a city street - whatever side it's parked on for the night -- if it's not in the way or causing trouble for DPW, correct?  No, not according to HPD brass.   

I asked the two HPD representatives of the SAFETY Committee meeting -- the chief and the captain -- if HPD ever issues overnight tickets when the DPW street sweeper or snowplows are not out on the streets.  In unison, one said "yup" and the other said "yeah."  Miller added, "Of course."   (Why are there two HPD employees involved in the meeting, two people answering the same question?  Because more is merrier?  Just in case one doesn't know what they are talking about?)  

"Isn't that the reason for the rule?"  I asked.

"No," Miller responded.  (He actually said this!)

"What's the reason for the rule?" I asked.

Miller responded, "It's safety.  It's all the concerns.  All the cars parked uniform.  Safety concerns.  Abandoned cars."   He had obviously spent a lot of time rehearsing that answer, don't you think?  (Chief Franklin had nothing to add!)

Another ticketed safety risk!  Stop
parking on the wrong side of the street 
when DPW is not sweeping!

Considering the fact that there was no DPW activity of any kind early this morning to keep our streets clean and safe, if you follow Captain David Miller's logic and reasoning regarding his department's constant issuing of overnight parking tickets regardless of DPW activity, the two cars in the pictures that were ticketed last night posed some sort of safety risk to the residents of Hudson (and possibly HPD).  Same goes for all the 20 or 30 other cars that were ticketed last night for creating "safety concerns" by parking on the WRONG SIDE of the street while the DPW street sweeper never made it out of the DPW garage on Dock Street. Either the ticketed cars weren't "parked uniform," whatever that hell means, or they were considered or suspected to be abandoned.  ("Hey, look, that car might be abandoned.  Ticket it!  Maybe then it will move.  But, wait, isn't that car always parked in the neighborhood in one space or another?  Isn't that Mr. Smith's car?  Doesn't he live in the 500 block of State?  Doesn't he drive that car to work every day?)  Or just maybe the reality of the situation was that the residents who own those two cars just forgot to move them to the NOT WRONG side of the street so that they wouldn't be in the way of the DPW street sweeper that wasn't out early this morning.

What an absolute crock of shit!  "Safety concerns" and SAFETY Committee my by big toe!