San Francisco drivers ticketed while parking in own driveways

Yahoo

6 days ago

A group of frustrated San Francisco residents is sick of receiving tickets despite being parked in their own driveways.
Some of the residents in the California city say they are convinced that someone is using old photos to file citations against them over and over again.
Larry Reed told NBC Bay Area that he found a $108 ticket on his car on Monday.
'One hundred and eight dollars for parking on my driveway,' he told the broadcaster.
A complaint had been filed against his car for parking on the sidewalk, part of a flood of complaints that have been made against him and his neighbors, which have resulted in hefty parking fines.
"We don't know what the deal is. It's just, when we park on the driveway, we get a notice,' Yolanda Francisco told the broadcaster. 'It's been reported to 311 multiple times. But one picture, multiple times."
Residents in San Francisco neighborhoods have been receiving numerous fines for cars parked in their driveways that are slightly sticking out over the sidewalk (Getty)
The citations have been happening for about two months in Mission District neighborhoods.
According to parking officers who spoke to the broadcaster, they're responding to complaints filed on the city's 311 system.
Francisco's son-in-law, David Chen, noted that the photos of the alleged infractions are repeats, showing the same alleged parking violations over and over again.
Chen was there when Reed received his citation on Monday. He said Reed's car — while slightly on the sidewalk — left plenty of space for anyone, including people with mobility issues, to get past.
"There's like 10 feet of open space. It's not causing a problem for anyone with accessibility issues,' he told the broadcaster. 'It's literally somebody making themselves feel good by submitting it, trolling us, getting us tickets."
Reed has gone so far as to post a sign near his front steps offering to move his vehicle for anyone who has an issue with its location — they need only call him.
Sharon Gillenwater, another resident living in the Noe Valley neighborhood, said she was fined a total of $324 because her son's car and her SUV slightly cross their driveway line onto the sidewalk when they're parked, according to the U.S. Sun.
She called the fines "overzealous punishment" and agrees with the idea that someone is intentionally targeting people in the neighborhoods with their reports.
'We're not fighting the law, we all agree that strollers and disabled people need to pass," she told the publication. 'But can we just be in the spirit of the law? In our case, there is plenty of room for two wheelchairs to go in tandem down the street.'
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency said it is not targeting the residents, but is just responding to 311 reports as they are received.
Reed and his neighbors are frustrated with the sudden flood of complaints, and they want to know why, all of a sudden, someone has raised a stink about their parking.