Teh One Who Knocks
07-09-2015, 11:12 AM
Melissa Blasius, KUSA
http://i.imgur.com/luHzv79.jpg
DENVER - Some of Denver's top entertainment destinations are also the places you're most likely to receive a parking ticket.
9Wants to Know analyzed all the city's parking ticket data for 2014 to find out where you should double check the signs and make sure to feed the meters.
Denver dishes out the most tickets on the 1900 block of Market Street, which is near Coors Field. In 2014, Denver parking enforcement agents issued nearly 5,400 tickets there, with total fines exceeding $230,000.
When asked about areas with large number of parking fines, Denver Public Works spokeswoman Heather Burke said drivers need to "pay attention to the signs and follow the guidelines."
Other top parking ticket locations are family-friendly destinations like the Denver Zoo and the Museum of Nature and Science, both in City Park.
Hundreds of patrons attending events at the Bluebird Theater on Colfax or at the Colorado Convention Center also found tickets on their windshields last year.
Visitors to Denver Health walked away with 642 tickets last year. Most of those people improperly parked in a private lot.
The 1900 block of Market claims the top ticket title due to a unique parking rule. The entire block becomes a tow-away zone every night from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., which also happens to be prime time for crowds at nearby bars. Parking enforcement agents often offer no grace period. One-third of all tickets on the block were issued from 10 p.m. to 10:10 p.m.
"It's 10:01 and he's already there!" observed Terrance Holland, after pulling into a parking spot on June 17. Holland quickly drove off to avoid a ticket.
"I wasn't too happy," said Steve Solis, who was ticketed one minute before arriving at his car. "It was a $50 ticket," he said.
"This is not cool," said ticketed driver Martin Zam. "A rational human being reads that sign as you pay until 10 o'clock," he said, adding, "If a reasonable person can't tell, then it's the parking equivalent of a speed trap."
"We have a total of nine 'no parking' signs along that stretch, which is a lot for a block that stretch," said Burke. He says last year the city clarified parking signage, and there are currently "no parking" stickers on both sides of each Market Street meter.
Denver police officials say they asked the city to create the overnight no parking zone. They say it improves safety because officers can more easily respond to unruly crowds and crimes when the bars let out.
"You clear the cars out; you have better egress for the emergency vehicles to come through," said Sonny Jackson, a Denver Police Department spokesman.
http://i.imgur.com/luHzv79.jpg
DENVER - Some of Denver's top entertainment destinations are also the places you're most likely to receive a parking ticket.
9Wants to Know analyzed all the city's parking ticket data for 2014 to find out where you should double check the signs and make sure to feed the meters.
Denver dishes out the most tickets on the 1900 block of Market Street, which is near Coors Field. In 2014, Denver parking enforcement agents issued nearly 5,400 tickets there, with total fines exceeding $230,000.
When asked about areas with large number of parking fines, Denver Public Works spokeswoman Heather Burke said drivers need to "pay attention to the signs and follow the guidelines."
Other top parking ticket locations are family-friendly destinations like the Denver Zoo and the Museum of Nature and Science, both in City Park.
Hundreds of patrons attending events at the Bluebird Theater on Colfax or at the Colorado Convention Center also found tickets on their windshields last year.
Visitors to Denver Health walked away with 642 tickets last year. Most of those people improperly parked in a private lot.
The 1900 block of Market claims the top ticket title due to a unique parking rule. The entire block becomes a tow-away zone every night from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., which also happens to be prime time for crowds at nearby bars. Parking enforcement agents often offer no grace period. One-third of all tickets on the block were issued from 10 p.m. to 10:10 p.m.
"It's 10:01 and he's already there!" observed Terrance Holland, after pulling into a parking spot on June 17. Holland quickly drove off to avoid a ticket.
"I wasn't too happy," said Steve Solis, who was ticketed one minute before arriving at his car. "It was a $50 ticket," he said.
"This is not cool," said ticketed driver Martin Zam. "A rational human being reads that sign as you pay until 10 o'clock," he said, adding, "If a reasonable person can't tell, then it's the parking equivalent of a speed trap."
"We have a total of nine 'no parking' signs along that stretch, which is a lot for a block that stretch," said Burke. He says last year the city clarified parking signage, and there are currently "no parking" stickers on both sides of each Market Street meter.
Denver police officials say they asked the city to create the overnight no parking zone. They say it improves safety because officers can more easily respond to unruly crowds and crimes when the bars let out.
"You clear the cars out; you have better egress for the emergency vehicles to come through," said Sonny Jackson, a Denver Police Department spokesman.