05.13.07
Parking at PSU
To Whom It May Concern:
RE: Citation C429371
I parked my car in a parking space reserved for a car pool car at exactly 6:00 PM on April 11. I know this because my class was starting at 6 PM, and I called and told my co-instructor to start the class on time, as I was held up in traffic. The posted hours on the sign stated the car-pool permit reservation was from 6 AM to 6 PM. As of 6:00 PM it was entirely acceptable to park in this location, according to the sign.
The ticket left on my windshield that evening and the time stamp on the violation notice you sent me both say that the ticket was issued at 5:58 PM. I dispute the time of the watch that was used to set the violation’s time. My car’s clock read exactly 6:00 PM, and I saw no other clock in the parking structure that would have shown a different time in comparison.
Let’s set aside time issue to focus on another aspect of this: Why wasn’t a warning used instead of a violation? Certainly it would make more fiscal sense to simply leave a warning on a car if it uses a reserved space within 5 or 10 minutes of it being available for general use.
Now you and I have to have this correspondence to work this out, when a simple warning would have let me know that your clocks are off, and to avoid the reserved spots until… 10? 15 minutes after the posted end of the reservation time?
Since April 11, I have parked at the higher levels of Parking Structure 1 and have avoided these pesky time-reserved spots entirely.
Please consider this my notice of dispute of this citation. I ask that you remove/rescind this citation and consider a policy of using warnings as opposed to inappropriate fines for such easily disputed reserved times.
Sincerely…