City of New Haven
After 13 cars on one street got ticketed for no apparent reason, neighbors cried foul — and the city agreed.
The city dismissed all 13 $30 tickets, and the transportation department issued an apology.
It all took place on Thursday.
The trouble began when the city handed out tickets to more than a dozen cars parked on Eld Street in East Rock. The cars were cited for parking in an area that was supposed to be clear for utility work.
Neighbors immediately complained that they hadn’t been warned about the parking ban.
“Apparently every car parked on Eld St. has been ticketed for $30, Code 51,” SeeClickFix user eldstreeter, known offline as Matt Santacroce, wrote online. “No posted or announced parking ban. What’s the deal?”
Santacroce said his Hyundai Elantra was ticketed, along with his fiancee’s Volkswagen Passat. He said his fiancee walked the length of Eld Street after she was ticketed, and finally found one sign behind a tree, and another tucked away at the end of the street.
Lisa Siedlarz, head of the SoHu (aka South of Humphrey Street) Neighborhood Association, sent out an email message saying that the city had posted signs, but only on the morning of the work.
“I think it is outrageous that they did not give 24 hours notice of the ban,” Siedlarz wrote. “And if it was an emergency, how dare they give out tickets when people aren’t home to do anything about it?!”
“Signs were posted adequately the night before,” said city spokesman Laurence Grotheer, “but the wind apparently took them. So the result of that was inadequate notification.”
“I was out until about 10:45 the night before and I didn’t see any posted when I got back,” Santacroce said. Even if they had been up, and the wind had taken them down, “you would see them on the ground and stuff, right?”
“Upon further investigation of this issue, we have determined that the amount of signs was inadequate and have proceeded to dismiss all No Parking citations issued on Eld related to this matter,” wrote the transportation department’s evening parking enforcement supervisor, on SeeClickFix. “We apologize for any inconvenience.”
“Woot! Thanks to all who looked into this. Responsive local government FTW!” Santacroce wrote on SeeClickFix. He was one of several people who praised the city for quick action.
Santacroce also had high praise for SeeClickFix. “That was awesome. That’s the main takeaway from this: SeeClickFix really works.”
This is one of the better Government responses I have seen on SCF. Hi-Five Traffic and Parking.