Parking Woes
I am submitting this to gain anectodal evidence of others' negative (or positive) experiences with Dover parking, particularly in the past several years. I remember when no one had to pay to park in the city on weekends, and I miss that. It honestly irks me that Dover and Portsmouth IMO are inconvenient places to find parking, and have excessive lengthy enforcement hours and high rates of parking fees. Is there even a good solution to that? (This question is rhetorical, but if you want to insert your thoughts feel free.) I don't live in Dover, I live nearby, but Dover is basically the closest downtown mecca to me that offers an array of options for food, parks, entertainment, recreation, retail. I am in Dover almost every day but parking is usually frustrating.
Back to the specific point. I just had an encounter yesterday that made me irritated and angry. I parked at Henry Law park, paid for my anticipated time like a good little rule follower, and proceeded to enjoy the park with my kids. Some time later when I was almost ready to leave, I spotted a parking enforcement officer standing at my vehicle writing me a ticket. I was confused and thought maybe I had not added enough time. Then I checked it and still had about 30 minutes. Upon questioning the enforcement officer, he told me that my paper ticket didn't match my vehicle plate (I had mistakenly entered the wrong license plate number). Simple enough mistake.. But instead of accepting my explanation of my error, the officer insisted that I pay again for parking a second time, entering the correct license plate, in order to avoid the ticket. I did that.
I guess he could have been even more "mean" and wrote me the ticket anyway on a technicality. BUT isn't the whole point of having a parking system here to avoid having city residents and employees using up the limited street/public parking available, and to free up these spaces for people visiting the city who actually need them? I will reference this link to an article explaining the reasons for extending the time periods when paid parking is enforced. https://www.dover.nh.gov/services/online-services/news-events/news-2019/new-parking-hours-and-rates-in-dover-begin-sept-3.html
Here are some specific things this officer said that I take issue with:
- Can you PROVE that you purchased the paper ticket with the wrong plate? Some people will hand off their tickets to incoming people if they haven't used all the time.
- Better to pay twice than get a ticket.
First, how is it relevant that some people are attempting to share the remainders of their paid parking out of kindness and neighborly benevolence? The money has already been paid for the spot and the proper time. It shouldn't matter who uses it. No one is cheating the city out of their rightful fee money. No one in this case is selfishly taking up spaces that others need. The city already gets daily "extra" revenue from people who pay for more time than they need and then leave the spot when the time hasn't yet expired. (This is why physical parking meters were much better for the consumer—you know when there is time left for that spot. If time isn't expired, you don't get a ticket.)
Second, why am I, a law abiding, polite, considerate citizen, being held to the highest possible standard BEYOND the intent of the rule and made to pay double the amount owed (it's not a lot of money, but it's the principle of the matter)? Why is a pound of flesh being demanded for such a minor issue? I didn't say anything rude toward the officer. I gave him the benefit of the doubt that the city is the one implementing the practices for the enforcement staff to follow—I hope that is actually the case, rather than this one guy "going rogue" and going beyond the intent of compliance. I'm sure he's tired of peoples' excuses. But still.
I would love to have people weigh in here. I want to write to the Parking Bureau, because I believe this enforcement encounter goes beyond what is reasonable on a business level. Do you think the officer was too harsh due to his own temperament, or do you think that the city requires this level of enforcement that allows for no flexibility and asks consumers to pay more than the required fee in order to avoid an unjust penalty? Is the city training this behavior in the enforcement staff, or is this guy just sick of everyone's shit and apathetic? How many other people experience these minor injustices daily? Let me know your story or your observations.