We spoke to the police about a man in a car without license plates parked for weeks near Jamison Park. The man has posed a problem at times, intimidating park-goers. We called the non-emergency police line and gave up after a half hour on hold. We then saw a police car in our area on another call and stopped to talk to them. The police responded very quickly and spoke to the man but said they could do nothing UNLESS THE CAR WAS MOVING. Really? If I overextend my Parking Kitty by 10 minutes, I get a ticket. Why the double standard? Why so many city, county, and state silos that just point to each other and nothing gets done?
I had a similar situation near the Housing Authority of Portland's Hollywood East Apartment Complex that I complained to PBOT about. Van with expired Minnesota Plates with a tow bar attached to an unlicensed VW Bug that appeared to be seriously inoperable. Think taking up two spaces. I took pictures and complained in December, January, and March. I finally tried to contact the Mayor's office because (with our new, improved City Government) he's supposed to be supervising the City Manager. Mayor's office never responded (surprise, surprise, surprise!). Couldn't figure out how to contact my City Councilor at the time (and I later figured out that when you do, they don't respond anyway). It finally disappeared sometime in early May (I believe), only to arrive in the exact same spot about 6 weeks later, once again taking up two parking spots. It's still there, but I'm exhausted trying to get anyone's attention.
At minimum, any car with plates expired more than a year should automatically be impounded and towed. Any car that has no plates should be immediately impounded and towed. These cars are uninsured, and pose a risk to the rest of us when they are being driven. We have allowed our local governmental leaders to create a two-tiered system that allows certain designated "victims" special privileges over those who follow the rules and pay the taxes that keep this city and county running. This political favoritism breeds resentment in those who follow the rules, and contempt for the law in the rest.
If you cannot afford to license and ensure your vehicle, and if you cannot afford to park that vehicle, guess what? You can't afford a car!
Man sees car with trash, emails city, gets what he wants, writes article about it using the word "unmolested" in the headline without breaking a sweat.
We spoke to the police about a man in a car without license plates parked for weeks near Jamison Park. The man has posed a problem at times, intimidating park-goers. We called the non-emergency police line and gave up after a half hour on hold. We then saw a police car in our area on another call and stopped to talk to them. The police responded very quickly and spoke to the man but said they could do nothing UNLESS THE CAR WAS MOVING. Really? If I overextend my Parking Kitty by 10 minutes, I get a ticket. Why the double standard? Why so many city, county, and state silos that just point to each other and nothing gets done?
Equity, don'tcha know?
I had a similar situation near the Housing Authority of Portland's Hollywood East Apartment Complex that I complained to PBOT about. Van with expired Minnesota Plates with a tow bar attached to an unlicensed VW Bug that appeared to be seriously inoperable. Think taking up two spaces. I took pictures and complained in December, January, and March. I finally tried to contact the Mayor's office because (with our new, improved City Government) he's supposed to be supervising the City Manager. Mayor's office never responded (surprise, surprise, surprise!). Couldn't figure out how to contact my City Councilor at the time (and I later figured out that when you do, they don't respond anyway). It finally disappeared sometime in early May (I believe), only to arrive in the exact same spot about 6 weeks later, once again taking up two parking spots. It's still there, but I'm exhausted trying to get anyone's attention.
At minimum, any car with plates expired more than a year should automatically be impounded and towed. Any car that has no plates should be immediately impounded and towed. These cars are uninsured, and pose a risk to the rest of us when they are being driven. We have allowed our local governmental leaders to create a two-tiered system that allows certain designated "victims" special privileges over those who follow the rules and pay the taxes that keep this city and county running. This political favoritism breeds resentment in those who follow the rules, and contempt for the law in the rest.
If you cannot afford to license and ensure your vehicle, and if you cannot afford to park that vehicle, guess what? You can't afford a car!
Man sees car with trash, emails city, gets what he wants, writes article about it using the word "unmolested" in the headline without breaking a sweat.