My First Public Charge - Santa Monica

[TomT]

+1!

Still hatin' on the West Side here!

meh, I still take it any day over the Orange Curtain. I mean Orange County.

 

[JimSouCal]

Quid pro quo: I wish we could fine them, the 3rd party vendor who runs this shakedown routine, for simple mistakes...

update: My initial attempt at contesting my citation has been denied, which I'm not surprised about. I bet they deny everyone initially to weed out people who are gonna give up and pay it. Unfortunately for them I am tenacious. In order to get a hearing, they do force you to pay the citation, the slimey buggers. So I paid the ticket and now I'm waiting to receive a date for a hearing. I also emailed Lynne Taffert who is a contact person with this free parking program.

http://www.driveclean.ca.gov/incentive_detail.php?incentive_id=36&type=" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Because of your ongoing hassle (which is really wrong and unfair government dysfunction), I happened to get my parking sticker yesterday, and today, parked in a 9 hour space, with a taped printed note on the back window that read in large type:

Parking Enforcement
Please Note
EV Parking Permit Decal
At Left

Please keep us posted.

Very time consuming to deal with this 3rd party agency. I am actually going to send them a formal demand bill for my time at this point to the city managers office, and see how they respond.

 

[malloryk]

Because of your ongoing hassle (which is really wrong and unfair government dysfunction), I happened to get my parking sticker yesterday, and today, parked in a 9 hour space... Very time consuming to deal with this 3rd party agency. I am actually going to send them a formal demand bill for my time at this point to the city managers office, and see how they respond.

oooh, love those 9-hour meters! I really feel like I'm sticking it to the man when I get one of those! :twisted: Good luck with your endeavors and keep us posted!

 

[SharonaLA]

Parked twice today in Santa Monica at meters. No tickets. Once near Shutters and once on 2nd street near Wilshire.

Thanks, everyone, for posting earlier in this forum the links to Santa Monica EV parking program sheets. I printed them out and put them on the dashboard. Not sure if parking enforcement stopped by my car, but having the info on the dash gave me peace of mind.

I also have the state EV parking sticker.

 

[johnr]

Most likely part of the problem is the white EV sticker looks nearly identical to the yellow hybrid sticker. The parking enforcement probably doesn't even think to check the color of it.

Mallory, that's just not right that you have to pay the fine while waiting for a hearing. Just not right at all...

 

[k2msmith]

I'm interested in using this particular charging location, but how do I know if it is available ? What is the protocol if it is in use ? - or a car is sitting in the spot fulling charged ?

 

[DarkStar]

I'm interested in using this particular charging location, but how do I know if it is available ? What is the protocol if it is in use ? - or a car is sitting in the spot fulling charged ?

Definitely ChargePoint: http://lockerz.com/s/79286625

You can use the ChargePoint website to check the status with this address: 19600 Van Ness Ave, Torrance, California 90501, United States

 

[k2msmith]

THanks, Very helpful. incidentally, I went to a local charge station (on the gps map) in Ventura. There were two chargers (both listed available), but the parking spots were both occupied by SUIV's ! I didn't complain because I had enough to get home - The EV community is still in a young state.

 

[malloryk]

wanted to give an updated on the parking ticket I received in Santa Monica in Aug. I had the hearing today. It was informal and very quick, over in less than 5 minutes. I brought pictures of the stickers on my car and that's what she wanted to see. She said that she is required to give her decision in 10 days in writing but wanted to let me know that she would be reversing my citation and refunding my $53. Justice! And she said not all the officers are aware and if I get another ticket, just send pics in of my stickers.

 

[JimSouCal]

wanted to give an updated on the parking ticket I received in Santa Monica in Aug. I had the hearing today. It was informal and very quick, over in less than 5 minutes. I brought pictures of the stickers on my car and that's what she wanted to see. She said that she is required to give her decision in 10 days in writing but wanted to let me know that she would be reversing my citation and refunding my $53. Justice! And she said not all the officers are aware and if I get another ticket, just send pics in of my stickers.

WARNING, off topic

In a way, that is good. The hijacking of your time, due to incompetence, not so fair.

I got a no front plate ticket on the LEAF, put the plate on, got a CHP signoff, and mailed it in. Thankfully, I kept a photo copy, as while they cashed the check of $10, still say I owe an additional $25. Whoever opened the envelope did not bother to note that I had corrected the violation.

On hassle number two with these folks, I still have a ticket I paid in a timely manner, sent them a copy of the canceled check with the citation number, the agency still did not credit a timely payment, but rather sent me a form letter saying they may owe me a refund.

The parking enforcement generates 12.5 million for the city, and it the collections are run by a private contractor. Their normal procedure is to send out a form denial letter for any appeal, as it is a numbers game.

There is one class action suit against the agency related to appeals and the use of generic forms that don't really consider the appeal, which is exactly what happened to you, Mallory.

My opinion is this is what happens when private business captures government. They abuse the authority. Anyway, I have copies of everything, and need to respond to them in writing.