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Parking Ticket Question

J

JFondaTheHonda

New member
Joined
Sep 10, 2019
Location
San Francisco
Moto(s)
'87 Honda Elite 250
Hey Everyone,

Hopefully I attached this right.. Can someone let me know if it's worth fighting an expired meter ticket in this situation? I'm so bummed because there were plenty of other places I could have parked, but I was so sure that this wasn't considered a metered spot because my bike was on the other side..

Thanks for your help!

Fonda:ride
 

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Your only option when parking near meters is to share a meter. You are always responsible to park in a metered spot, you can't park outside of them. If you share with a car, and the car's meter expires, yours is expired as well.
 
Moving this to general to see if you get a few more responses.
 
Mr Pepsi said:
Your only option when parking near meters is to share a meter. You are always responsible to park in a metered spot, you can't park outside of them. If you share with a car, and the car's meter expires, yours is expired as well.
Click to expand...

Hmm... I would have parked there and thought I was outside a metered space.

How near a meter do you have to be for it to govern your space?
How far away from a meter do you have to be for it not to govern your space?

I'd probably show up in traffic court with that photo, for what, besides time, do I have to loose and the judge may be in a good mood. :rolleyes
 
Don't metered spots usually go by block?
 
Usually metered spots will have a bracket or line to delineate where to park for that spot or there will be a redzone. I don't see any of that in that picture though o_O'

I would say you are guilty though
 
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Ya ur screwed. Fork over the dough
 
Curb was painted all the way to the driveway, right? If so, you're on the hook.
 
You’re going to waste more time fighting it... and you will fail. If parked on the sidewalk you would get a ticket too. Are you new to Sf? You gotta learn how to play the parking game out here.
 
In short: no, you can't fight it (successfully)


JFondaTheHonda said:
Hey Everyone,

Hopefully I attached this right.. Can someone let me know if it's worth fighting an expired meter ticket in this situation? I'm so bummed because there were plenty of other places I could have parked, but I was so sure that this wasn't considered a metered spot because my bike was on the other side..

Thanks for your help!

Fonda:ride
Click to expand...

The only way to fight it if you find some problem with the ticket
-- wrong bike
-- wrong bike VIN
-- bike plate number
-- not the correct signs
 
Fight it. There is no designated area for the parking spot. It’s open to interpretation on who is metered and who isn’t. The fact that parking brackets are not present may be a factor in your ticket being reversed.

With that being said good luck. sFMTA is evil and wants your money.
 
Entoptic said:
Fight it. There is no designated area for the parking spot. It’s open to interpretation on who is metered and who isn’t. The fact that parking brackets are not present may be a factor in your ticket being reversed.

With that being said good luck. sFMTA is evil and wants your money.
Click to expand...

There are meters along that block, therefore, parking is metered. There are no non-metered "spots". Because, well, there are meters. Had there been delineated lines like there are in most metered parking areas, parking outside those lines would constitute a violation as well.
 
I think you have a good chance of getting the ticket dismissed.

It seems clear from your photo that the meter covers the space immediately to the right, i.e., the space between the meter and the red fire alarm box. There is ample space there to park a car legally. The space to the left of the meter, where you are parked, is clearly NOT a metered spot. The space between the meter and the curb cut is too small to fit a car, but a motorcycle fits there easily, without taking up any part of the metered spot, or blocking the driveway.

There are spaces like this all over San Francisco. Indeed, the SFMTA recognizes this and, more importantly, allows motorcycles to use these spaces to park.

See the following comment at: https://www.sfmta.com/motorcycle-parking

"Motorcycles may park in any legal parking spot for cars. This includes full-sized metered spaces, motorcycle must pay the meter if they are occupying the space. On many blocks there are short stretches of curb that while not signed and marked for motorcycle parking are ideal motorcycle parking locations because they are too small for a car or other vehicle to legally park.

For more information about off-street motorcycle parking options including pricing please visit the Garage & Lots page"

I don't understand why you would get a ticket for an expired meter when you are clearly not parked in a metered spot and, as far as I can tell from your photo, the spot where you are parked is not governed by the meter.
 
While there are no white boxes outlining the “spot”

The “spot” is considered the entire curb in this case.
 
Thank you, All.

I'm actually really surprised by the number of responses to this. Not long after posting, I felt silly about doing so. The block was metered - period.

There were no lines, but the meter there seems obviously there for people to park on that segment of curb whether it be pulled up on either side of it.

What's sad is that directly across the street, there is a small stretch of curb before a cross walk that isn't big enough for a meter where I usually park, but because I saw a construction sign on the closest meter to it, I was trying to be "careful". And the place I was going even has dedicated spots, but I always feel rude taking one when it's so much easier for me to park for free vs. a car that could utilize one.

If anything, the ticket prompted me to find this lovely forum.

AND I might bring the ticket/photo in anyway to see what they say - I have to get some temporary residential parking permits for my folks who are visiting next month. I'll report the outcome. $79 is always hard to lose.

THANK YOU
 
ABC said:
You’re going to waste more time fighting it... and you will fail. If parked on the sidewalk you would get a ticket too. Are you new to Sf? You gotta learn how to play the parking game out here.
Click to expand...
No - 20 years in. 5 on scoot. I know the game. I just lose sometimes :(
 
I fought a parking ticket in SF that had a similar component of ambiguity. I just sent it in the mail, was polite and concise, and addressed the actual wording of the statute I was cited for.

I didn't get out of it, but I got the price reduced by more than half, which was worth my time.
 
One could argue that you are not in the metered space and I think it is a typical SF bs cite.

Contested one very similar. Yeh, it wasn't worth the time but I was pissed and figured I would waste the cities time. The fist level review is no different than the next two. Almost automatic denial no matter what. Then you appeal it up to Superior court before a real judge. Got it dismissed w/ costs.
 
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