Never On Sunday?

 

Yesterday afternoon, as HUDseen pointed out, all of the downtown parking kiosks were unable to accept money when they should have been.  But today, just as last Sunday, those same kiosks were misleading visitors by accepting money when they should not have been accepting money or printing receipts/permits to give the impression that parking is not free on Sundays.  Such is the upside-down world of parking in Hudson.

Not too surprisingly, I found two receipts/permits inside the kiosk in the 200 block of Warren.  Both of them referred to the "machine" as "425 Warren." Okay.  One was from a credit card transaction on Friday, and the other was printed this morning at 10:39 for someone using a Mastercard ending with the numbers 3979.  Obviously, that person was not aware that parking is always free on Sundays in Hudson, but can you blame them?  Nowhere on the kiosks or on the screen of the kiosks does it indicate what hours and days paid parking is in effect.  Nowhere does it say, "Paid parking in effect Monday thru Saturday 9:00 - 5:00" or "Parking is free on Sundays."  Maybe Parking Captain Miller and Chief/Acting Commissioner Franklin would prefer things remain that way, tricking people into paying for parking when they don't need to.  More money money money for the cash-strapped city, and more parking revenue for Parking Captain Miller to boast about at the next Safety Committee meeting!  Why not!  How much did we rake in on Sundays, Parking Captain Miller?  How many customers did you fool in June?

Hudson is becoming an uglier city!  That graffiti on 
the wall has been there for well over one year.
FACING A FUCKING PUBLIC PARK!

That's a kiosk receipt/permit on the sidewalk, seen on Thursday afternoon.  Those tyrannical, barbaric parking meters of ours never gave anyone the opportunity to litter, did they?  Welcome the digital, ahistoric, uglified and littered Hudson.  Welcome to America.

Why on earth are receipts printed out with each transaction if they don't have to go on a dashboard and people just leave them behind in the machine or litter the city with them?  If someone doesn't want a receipt, why should one be printed out? How about, like at the gas pump and at certain stores, customers are given the option to not have a receipt printed for them to take home?  

Or does that make too much sense? 

That's a picture I took recently of a car parked in the MOTO lot showing a kiosk receipt on the dashboard.  Someone paid for their space outside the lot and walked back to their car to put the permit on their dashboard even though it's not necessary to do so.  Can you blame some people for just being cautious since nowhere on kiosks or receipts does it say that there is no need to put receipts on dashboards?  Keep people in the dark so they can waste their time!  And money!  A great way to treat people with respect!

Thanks, HPD, you are really killin' it!