Sorry About Your $25 Overnight Parking Tickets. Too Bad About That Tree, Isn't It?! Be Glad The Price Hasn't Increased To $35 Yet!

 

Depending on what street your car commits the heinous crime of being in the way of the DPW street sweeper early in the morning, HPD will issue you and your car one of two overnight parking tickets.  On State, Warren, Allen, and many north-south streets where there are no posted overnight parking rules, HPD officers issue $15 WRONG SIDE PARKING tickets.  (No signs = $15.)  However, on streets such as Prospect (see pictures), Washington, Union, and others with posted special overnight parking rules that typically don't apply every night of the week (referred to as, I believe, local street rules), HPD officers issue $25 NO PARKING ZONE tickets.  (Yes signs = $25.)  Even though your car is parked on the "wrong side," you will not be issued a $15 WRONG SIDE PARKING ticket where local street rules apply.  You've committed the same crime of parking on the wrong side of the street, but a different ticket with a higher fee applies.  And to add the confusion, if HPD finds that someone has parked their car during the day or night alongside a yellow curb and/or in front of a NO PARKING ANY TIME sign, they issue the same $25 NO PARKING ZONE ticket.  Different crime, but same ticket and same fee.  This makes all the sense in the world, doesn't it? 

I don't know if Margaret Morris got around to it during Monday's informal council meeting, but she was hoping to get the council to vote on her increased parking ticket fee proposal, which would include both overnight parking tickets.  If she and her council get/got their way, parking in the way of the DPW street sweeper will, depending on the street, cost you either $25 or $35.  Of course, parking alongside a yellow curb in a NO PARKING ZONE (whether there is a sign or not) might also soon cost you $35 instead of $25.  It should come as no surprise that Margaret Morris' new parking ticket fee structure does not take into consideration overgrown trees that obscure parking signs.

No worse than parking in the way of the DPW street sweeper.

Last year, as I recall, Margaret Morris got help from Rich Volo (along with Vicky Daskaloudi as part of the Finance Committee) in crafting the proposed parking ticket fee hikes.  Neither of them ever parks their car overnight on a city street, so they never have to worry about being issued $15 or $25 (or $35!) tickets by HPD at 2:00 in the morning.  Morris has a garage and Volo has a driveway, which is more than enough reason that they are the two city officials most suited to understand everyday and everynight reality in Hudson and raise parking ticket fees, especially the overnight parking tickets.  It makes all the sense in the world, doesn't it?