Your Turn Letters to the Editor: Parking ticket headache

I have been parking on the 400 block of North Allen Street for the past seven months. I have not had any problem with parking there during the past seven months, that is until Feb. 9 when I received a parking ticket and Feb. 17 when I received a second ticket, as did at least four other vehicles parked on the same block. The citation I received was for parking in a “posted no parking zone.” The 400 block of North Allen Street has no signs on the entire block that designate it as a no parking zone, except for the ends of the median on Park Street and in the traffic circle on Monument Avenue. I do not know why I received a parking ticket for parking legally and I do plan on contesting the tickets in court. I have no problem with parking tickets in the Fan district; they serve a much-needed purpose, and I realize that parking officers have difficult jobs and I mean no disrespect. But with parking as limited as it already is in the Fan and free parking as scarce as it is, I’m dumbfounded that people legally parked would be penalized for doing nothing illegal. I know of at least three other people who have had similar experiences in just the last week and a half on the same block of North Allen Street. I am now trying to find a different place to park since parking legally in the Fan has become a hazard to my checkbook. This is unfortunate since North Allen is very convenient for me and I did not, until recently, have to worry about being harassed by parking officers. Something needs to be done to make sure that people parked legally are not cited for doing nothing but going about our already busy lives in a legal manner.

Mitchell Smiley