Ann Arbor parking rules need to be clear to the public
I've attached a photograph of what appears to be a valid parking place, downtown on the corner of Ann street and Ingalls. Note that there is no indication that parking is not allowed in the space where the car is parked. On the morning of Oct. 23 I arrived downtown at about 7 a.m. Seeing that this space was empty, I parked my car and left it for the morning. When I came back to my car at about noon I had a parking ticket on the windshield with the ticket saying that it was a no parking area. The violation was that I was closer than 20 feet from the crosswalk.
I searched the Ann Arbor city Web site and couldn't find any mention of parking regulations, including this one. If any of you know where that information is to be found, please don't hesitate to send me back a link to it.
In point of fact, I do know of at least one other corner where parking is allowed closer than 20 feet from the crosswalk. Don't ask me where it is, though, enforcing this would only remove one more parking space from an area where more parking spaces are needed, not less.
I do feel strongly, though, that it is the responsibility of the parking department and the city to maintain signs enforcing this, and if the signs are taken down, some allowance should be made at least until the signs are replaced.
I don't know for sure if it was a city employee who removed any signs that may have been on that corner. Whether it was or not, though, the parking enforcement officer who patrols the area daily had plenty of time to report that there was no sign and to have any signs that should have been there installed. The fact that he apparently has not done this and is still issuing tickets comes close, to me, to being entrapment for the purpose of increasing his ticket quota. At this point I know I might as well pay the ticket. I don't really feel that I have any choice about that. I don't believe that sending this letter will make any difference in whether I have to pay or not. What should happen, though, is that a sign should be put up to indicate any places where parking is not allowed, and the parking enforcement people should not be ticketing cars in an area that is not marked for no parking.
Robert Grabbe Ann Arbor
Comments
Rebecca
Thu, Oct 28, 2010 : 9:37 p.m.
I agree totally. The city of Ann Arbor is the worst city to park in! I got a ticket for my tire touching the line of a parking spot. I took a picture with my cell phone camera and I was at least 1/8th of an inch from the line. Technically I was not touching the line. The referee did cancel the ticket but it takes time to resolve issues like this. I won't shop in downtown Ann Arbor because of lack of parking and the constant tickets. Not worth it!
NoPlaceLikeHome
Tue, Jan 19, 2010 : 10:42 p.m.
I would like to reiterate this to all people parking on West Washington Street near the YMCA: 10:56. Parking prohibitions (no signs required).(2) In front of a public or private driveway, or within 4 feet of each side of such driveway with a curb cut, measured from the boundaries of said driveway as extended. I find it absolutely ridiculous that people constantly park right on the edge, or a few inches over, of driveways on this street. Residents can easily call and request that vehicles parked too close to their driveway be ticketed, or both ticketed and towed. Parking so close to the edge of a narrow driveway makes it incredibly difficult and dangerous to pull out... have some common courtesy and common sense when parking and you'll be fine.
Bruce Amrine
Wed, Nov 11, 2009 : 9:15 a.m.
I think the lack of flexibility on the part of the city makes a bad problem into one that is unconscionable. Whatever happened to the idea of a warning? Somebody who makes an honest mistake and takes the time to go to the referee and protest ought to deserve a little slack. Nail the repeaters and scofflaws but go easy on folks otherwise. A little goodwill can go a long way toward making this a better world.
Kathy Griswold
Wed, Nov 11, 2009 : 9:12 a.m.
Robert, I recommend you take a few photos of the metered parking spots at the temporary City Hall entrance on E. Ann Street. The parking spots are within 5 feet of the marked crosswalk. I pointed this out at a recent City Council meeting, but the unlawful parking spots are still there. This is an extremely dangerous mid-block crosswalk with vehicles parked at designated parking spots on both sides of the street and it is visible to everyone entering City Hall. Why should you have to pay a fine when City staff either do not know the state law, or choose to ignore it? Can a person receive a ticket for parking within 20 feet of a marked crosswalk, even in a metered parking spot?
mmotherwe
Tue, Nov 10, 2009 : 5:08 p.m.
@Ben, just "not blocking the driveway" isn't good enough. If you park that close the driver can't see to get out. I had to have the city put up signs by my driveway because of how close people were parking and I still have problems. It also means my trash doesn't get picked up; there needs to be three feet of clearance on either side of the bin. You should never park closer than four feet from a driveway.
A Pretty Ann Arbor
Tue, Nov 10, 2009 : 11:02 a.m.
I a lot of cities they paint yellow on the curbs to let you know if you are in an area where you cannot park. Here is one that most don't know...if you leave your vehicle in the same spot for more than two days I can have the city tag it - you then have 24 or 48 hours (I forget which one) to move the car or they tow it. We use this a lot in my neighborhood where people regularly abandon their vehicles for days or weeks.
Mick52
Tue, Nov 10, 2009 : 10 a.m.
This is a common problem. The restriction to keep parking back from the corner is so that drivers can see oncoming traffic. I think that over the years, residents are pulling up the signs so they can park in front of their houses. I used to live in the Miner, Gott, Spring St neighborhood and it is bad over there. Its frustrating when you have to virtually pull into the intersection to see if a car is coming. I called the city, but the signs were never replaced.
Raspel
Mon, Nov 9, 2009 : 11:17 p.m.
Although the state law does indicate the distance one may park from a marked crosswalk, there is absolutely no doubt that the parking enforcement in Ann Arbor is much more zealous than anywhere else. Overzealous, as a matter of fact. By the way, a careful reading of the State parking regulations in Michigan, even as quoted from page 15 of _What Every Driver Must Know,_ reveals the following: "Communities may pass parking ordinances for local streets that are stricter than state law. Signs will be posted at the city limits." No such signs are posted at any of the city's limits here, which clearly puts A2 in violation of state law, but yet the parking enforcement crew gets away with ticketing like crazy. The city tries to finesse its way out of having the required (by state law) signs by throwing in the parenthetical "no signs required" as if adding that statement somehow absolves them from compliance. I don't understand why motorists have to comply with even the most arcane of laws, and the city clearly can violate them at will. As one writer on this blog said, it seems like a form of entrapment; even worse, it appears to be a violation of state law. Several people in this thread of comments have cited a city ordinance about how far one may park from a driveway. FYI, it is not 2 feet, but 4 feet--as AAJoker points out--as I found out the hard way several years ago when I was parked 2 feet from a driveway curb cut (as the law describes it). Like several others in this thread, I thought that over 2 feet is more than a reasonable distance to allow motorists to get in and out of driveways. Do they really need 4 feet of _both sides_ of the _sidewalk_ to get in and out of a driveway that is wider than their vehicle to begin with? Of course not. For over 35 years, I have parked 3 feet or less (all over the world) from driveways but never coming close to blocking any part of the driveway, including doing so for 7 years in Ann Arbor and not until that one fateful day, ever getting a ticket for this, even here! But one day, the very last day of a month (despite vociferous denials from the authorities, I'm convinced that they ticket more heavily closer to the end of a month to fill quotas), I learned that you have to keep at least 4 feet of distance from a driveway's curb cut, making it even harder to park in a city already notorious for being motorist unfriendly! And since there are no signs at the city limits as required by Michigan state law indicating this ordinance that is stricter than state law (which only specifies that you shall not block a driveway), it is really a cheap shot and foul play and probably illegal that the cityvery selectivelyenforces such a law! As a matter of fact, several other cars including one on the other side of the same driveway where I was ticketed that day were parked much closer to the driveway than I and were apparently not cited! And, they had been parked that way all day! I have lived, driven, and parked in New York City, San Francisco, Southern California, Paris (France), London (and other cities in England), among several other places and always go out of my way to park legally, with consideration, sensibly, and safely, and yet I have never experienced anything like the rush to issue parking tickets that I've seen in Ann Arbor where I've lived for nearly a dozen years. In 20+ years of living in New York City, I never once got a parking ticket including parking daily in Manhattan, crazy at that was when I lived in that borough and had to change sides of the street every day. I never received a ticket in many years of parking in those other cities either. But, in a space of 5 years or so, I received 6 parking tickets in Ann Arbor alone despite all my efforts to be extremely careful and park legally and reasonably! As an extreme example of how overboard the City of Ann Arbor goes in its insatiable craving for parking fine revenues, I must relate the following: several years ago, there was an area near downtown that had had parking meters pulled out while a several-weeks long street repair project was taking place. During that time, cars parked for free along this very busy street. I usually take the bus to and from work for obvious reasons (parking is strongly discouraged in Ann Arbor, and the AATA is a decent, relatively efficient, and ecological alternative), but one day when I was in a hurry to get to work, I drove and found a convenient spot on that same street where there were still no parking meters. As always, I double- and triple-checked: there were many other cars parked there; there were no signs indicating that parking was in any way limited in the middle of this block; and no signs that meters were to be re-installed anytime soon. Imagine my surprise when at 5 p.m. I got back to my car, saw that meters were installed and that I had a ticket on my windshield for an expired meter! How could I have parked at an expired meter when at the time I parked in the morning, there were NO meters to feed there?! If the city was going to sneak them in during the day as they did, they should not have enforced them until the following morning at 8 a.m. when everyone would have seen there were meters there from the moment enforcement went into effect! The city would still have received a large amount of money from all those unsuspecting motorists who parked there after they installed the meters the day they ticketed me and probably several others. This is just one blatant example that I have experienced among others over the last several years of such abuse. What a way to encourage commerce downtown and near the campus and to promote visits to our city! BTW, I fought this ticket and got the fine rescinded. So, a word to the wise: be _more_ than extra careful how and where and when you park a motor vehicle in Ann Arbor. You may be cited for something that is allowable in most any other reasonable place, including the rest of Michigan, but not here! This isas one of my neighbors recently saidone of the reasons I both love and hate this town! --Law-Abiding Citizen
eom
Mon, Nov 9, 2009 : 9:27 p.m.
I live near the football stadium and spend a lot of time watching "parking" issues each Saturday...I continue to be amazed at what people think is "legal" when they are trying to park...in front of driveways ("What? I'm only blocking your driveway a little!"), near fire hydrants, and dangerously close to stop signs and intersections. There aren't signs posted because you are supposed to know and understand WHY you shouldn't park close to an intersection, stop sign, driveway, or the like. My favorite people on football Saturdays, well, they scoff and think I'm trying to make a buck when I tell them they will get a ticket if they park in one of the areas I mentioned...Heavy sigh.
AAJoker
Mon, Nov 9, 2009 : 8:43 p.m.
As others have said, it is clear you are parked too close to that corner. As for the people who think you can park close the end of driveways, the rule is actually 4 feet from the start of the radius. The city code that covers both of these is: 10:56. Parking prohibitions (no signs required).(2) In front of a public or private driveway, or within 4 feet of each side of such driveway with a curb cut, measured from the boundaries of said driveway as extended; (6) Within 20 feet of a crosswalk, or if none, then within 15 feet of the intersection of property lines at an intersection of streets or highways;
Patrick Haggood
Mon, Nov 9, 2009 : 5:36 p.m.
Simple algorithm for ticket-free Ann Arbor parking IF (open meter) && ((have change) || (new digital meter)) THEN (own 20ft curbside parcel for up to 2hrs) ELSE (park in a structure for about 90cents/hr - cheap!) END
treetowncartel
Mon, Nov 9, 2009 : 3:33 p.m.
How about parking on the easement between the sidewalk and the street, or in your front house? Clearly, there is selctive enforcement there, just like the open intox statute. Quit bowing to the University and they might show some you some respect. make some revenue off the game day since you can not by law put a tax on the tickets.
UPSman
Mon, Nov 9, 2009 : 3:28 p.m.
Usually when a "parking spot" is open when the whole area is already saturated with parked cars there's probably a good reason why a car hadn't already occupied the spot. In this case the picture tells the story!
Ben
Mon, Nov 9, 2009 : 2:57 p.m.
Wow. Like one of the previous commenters, I park close to driveways all the time. As long as I'm not blocking any part of it, and there's no sign telling me not to park there, I park. Parking too close to intersections, on the other hand, makes me nervous. But I did not know there was a minimum distance rule. Some of the other things in the list of parking rules cited by Ed are surprising to me, too. I swear there are marked parking spaces in Ypsi neighborhoods within 30 feet of a stop sign.
treetowncartel
Mon, Nov 9, 2009 : 2:20 p.m.
Ignorance, is no excuse for the law. Take it to trial, look to see if you can get some jury nullification.
aaman
Mon, Nov 9, 2009 : 1:57 p.m.
I've lived in Ann Arbor and worked downtown for much of the last 20 years and have NEVER had a problem finding a legal parking spot any time of the day except for events such as Art Fair, etc. Most people are just too lazy to walk several blocks to one of the parking structures and would rather block driveways or intersections.
sunshine_valentine
Mon, Nov 9, 2009 : 1:39 p.m.
There's also the laws about parking and towing. I urge everyone to observe the parking lot at 520 South Forest Avenue. The parking lot is owned by Campus Realty and enforced by Triangle Towing. Michigan laws says warning signs have to be posted and prominently displayed at designated vehicular access points. This is a large parking lot with no signs! Tow truck drivers will watch from vantage points and do their deed as soon as someone leaves their vehicle. How do they get away with this? Campus Realty owns part of the street in front of the parking lot. There are signs on the street, but no one knows these signs also cover the parking lot. These street signs, however, don't meet Michigan law because signs have to be prominently displayed at access points. The Ann Arbor Police and City Government refuse to correct this.
Atticus F.
Mon, Nov 9, 2009 : 1:24 p.m.
Has anyone seen the tv show Parking Wars. with the cost of the new structure on 5th Ave., thats where we're heading...2 unpaid tickets will get a boot on your car. 3 will get you towed. Standing in line for 4 hours to get your vehicle out of impound. Having to surrender your plates to the state/ have your vehicle towed off the lot to keep from incurring more "storage fees", because you didn't meet every requirement to release the vehicle, ect...
notnecessary
Mon, Nov 9, 2009 : 1:23 p.m.
Also, comments like "HOW DID YOU GET A LICENSE?" are just silly and degrade this forum. This is about parking next to an intersection, its not like she didn't know that stop signs with the white border are optional. Come on...
notnecessary
Mon, Nov 9, 2009 : 1:21 p.m.
I think the issue is that on most intersections in the downtown area, there are signs that clearly mark where one is and where one isn't allowed to park. In this instance, there was no sign. If you're driving around blocks and you see signs marking off specific areas and then you see a part that isn't marked, I think it would be reasonable to assume that you could park there or at least it might not occur to you that you couldn't. Also, different areas have different laws/enforcement on this. Where I lived in Virginia people would literally park on top of the corners with no enforcement.
grimdaddy1
Mon, Nov 9, 2009 : 1 p.m.
more tickets more costly tickets thats a great way to both curb the criminaly insane people who park in the 17 parking spaces in a2 and to raise more money for bike lanes and islands on every street in a2
Ryan J. Stanton
Mon, Nov 9, 2009 : 12:54 p.m.
You complaint is, in fact, quite timely, as the City Council has a special session at 7 p.m. tonight to talk about increasing parking fines: http://a2gov.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=84294&GUID=F4F12E95-B410-4614-8B05-E394B32BED60&Options=&Search=
MjC
Mon, Nov 9, 2009 : 12:23 p.m.
Look all of us know that we don't block a driveway or a sidewalk or a fire hydrant; but if it looks like there's enough between the end of your car and the driveway it's not like you're going to get out your yardstick and measure. Well... we do now. And you'll be happy to know we paid the ticket without complaint.
Moose
Mon, Nov 9, 2009 : 12:23 p.m.
Let's see... You're saying that there should be signs at every intersection facing in the direction of traffic flow stating that there is no parking within 20 ft of the intersection. Sure. This has been a parking regulation forever in Ann Arbor. It's a common sense law that prevents cars from blocking the line of sight for drivers at the intersection and for pedestrians crossing at the intersection. And a sign at every driveway that there is no parking within 2 feet of that drive. Right. This regulation is a courtesy for the owner of the driveway making it safe for cars to get in and out of the driveway.The parking too close to driveway is a problem on football Saturdays. But do not forget that the city and courts makes money off the ticket and the occasional tow.
Thick Candy Shell
Mon, Nov 9, 2009 : 12:22 p.m.
http://michigan.gov/documents/SOS_WEDMK_8_Basic_Skills_Laws_and_Safety_158270_7.pdf Page 15 in the PDF, Page 97 from "What Every Driver Must Know"
B. Corman
Mon, Nov 9, 2009 : 12:15 p.m.
These rules regarding parking too close to a corner or driveway are taught in Drivers Ed 101. It appears that the issue is that the rules are not enforced everywhere consistently.
Thick Candy Shell
Mon, Nov 9, 2009 : 12:13 p.m.
Every one should know this. It is not City Code, it is State Law! How did you get a License?
MjC
Mon, Nov 9, 2009 : 12:09 p.m.
My son received a ticket because he wasn't "two feet" from a drive, even though it looked like he was legally parked. Who would know this stuff except for parking officials!