An as-yet unknown number of Mission residents and visitors got an unpleasant surprise yesterday, in the form of a $55 parking ticket. An alert reader sent us the above photo, plus a plaintive message insisting that “Many are used to having these days free for meters and street cleaning. Many can’t afford this, and don’t think they did anything wrong. The city should have warned residents.”
It used to be that only the tourists paid. On holidays that fell during a normal work week, like Memorial Day or Labor Day, the SFMTA would only enforce the parking for the meters at Fisherman’s Wharf – or so says a long-cached version of the SFMTA’s holiday enforcement schedule.
But times have changed. Last fall the SFMTA eliminated its free holiday parking, except for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. The Fourth of July only got a pass this year because it fell on a weekend. And the city did issue a press release to announce the changes — it’s just that not many among us habitually read SFMTA press releases.
So be careful out there, car people. Here’s a link to that (current) holiday enforcement schedule. Keep an eye on it.
Does this mean we are paying these people time and a half for working on labor day?If so then I am not okay with that.
Thanks for this article. Could Mission Local also please tell us WHERE in the Mission the SFMTA just voted to install parking meters? Thank you!
It would be great to get the City data about parking. Looking through the data would be a chance to see if each neighborhood is being ticket appropriately. Also is the goal profit or enforcement.
http://datasf.org/
This all started with Muni and the DPT being combined into the MTA. They immediately began setting aside the interests of the citizens when it came to parking issues (with stuff like this holiday enforcement). This was done openly with the goal of maximizing revenue. Once Muni’s messed up finances were combined with the DPT’s all kinds of ideas like holiday enforcement (that never made sense or penciled out before) were suddenly approved to help support the transit union’s voracious appetite for taxpayer money and benefits. Wake up San Francisco. As long as you look the other way the SFMTA will continue to represent the employee unions, not the taxpayers.
Almost everyone in SF has a disabled placard for some bogus disability; placard holders park for free, all day, every day at meters. Any “health care practitioner” can issue a letter for a placard. One need only visit a chiropractor or a freaking herbalist to get a note, which the DMV won’t verify anyway.
I don’t have a placard and I pay for parking. I must be some kind of idiot.
on august 16- A Monday, there was a crosswalk trap set by sfpd motorcycle cops with a planted officer on geary and cook. on Geary, come on! btw they did not stop everyone just the ones in the slow lane.keep in mine traffic was already slow 20-25 due to traffic. bogus.another way to legally steal.
Let’s all protest our tickets – I got nailed near Fifth and Mission – and back the system up so they have to pay overtime; therefore losing all the extra revenue.
This city’s gotten hostile and unfriendly.. a sad state of affairs.
I was on Townsand Street and saw someone get a ticket and thought, when will people say, “Enough is enough?”
It reminded me of when I was in a theatre in 1977, yes 1977 and a lady asked me if could smoke and I told her that it bother me. She then lit her cigarette and told the person she was with that “He aint gonna do nothing.” I sat there boiling and did nothing.
City officials know we aint gonna do nothin about this.
They got the last laugh when they tried to implement the same mess Oakland tried when they moved the enforcement time to 8PM, so they just quietly snuck in the holiday enforcement. REAL SLICK!
Seriously, fuck the DPT. I saw them rolling around yesterday and I didn’t know WTF they were doing. I love that that city changes the rules on us with no publicity so that they can rip us off by surprise.
I wonder if they were still ticketing Tuesday morning. As I walked along Townsend at about 06:30am there was a meter cart cruising along the north side of the street.
Screw the citizens, that’s what they say!
I got popped for $65 on a meter in front of my own apartment building located on a street where you could hear the crickets all day long. Just another day of SF sucking the financial life out of the people who live here …
Actually, the parking meters know and will tell you. If the LCD screen is flashing red, you’d better feed it. If there’s a little white light flashing, it’s free parking. I went to park yesterday and saw the meter flashing, went online and saw that meters were now being enforced on Labor Day, and paid the meter. When I came back, I was the only one on the whole street who didn’t have a ticket. Obey the blinking lights.
Yeah always be paranoid about holiday parking. I checked the SFMTA website Sunday night for this very reason.
I read this at the last minute and moved my car accordingly. MissionLoc@l should ask the MTA how much they pay for meter enforcement on holidays. Do meter readers receive double or triple pay? Does the revenue from the tickets they issue cover that pay? If they can’t answer those questions, they shouldn’t be issuing tickets on holidays.
There were people getting ticketed on Clement Street as well.