Police chief lists top 10 illegal parking excuses
IN THE CITY
by Matt Irwin
In response to various complaints, the Presque Isle Police Department has stepped up its parking enforcement efforts. Parking citations are one of those necessary evils we all understand but never quite appreciate when we get one (yes, I’ve received them too!).
Typically, law enforcement’s parking enforcement effort tends to ebb and flow with a complaint driven response. Without fail, the day following a round of parking citations at the PD is all fireworks (ugh, fireworks … that’s a whole other issue for another discussion!); people who have received citations are suddenly and inextricably concerned that the police aren’t “solving real crime.”
Here are my top 10 reasons/excuses for illegal parking:
There are no signs indicating the parking restrictions (this is often true, see below);
My wife just went into the store to get some milk (it’s always the wife’s fault);
The blue paint is too faded and I didn’t see the “Handicapped Parking Only” sign;
People park here all the time;
I didn’t know I couldn’t park here. (an Academy Award winning shocked look on their face … if they had just looked through their windshield at the sign that says “Fire Lane, No Parking”);
There was no snow on the ground (snow removal restrictions);
My watch/clock stopped working (2 hour parking limits, funny how that happens so often);
I was only in there for 2 minutes (its always, always 2, whether minutes or beers!);
I’ve parked there many times before and no one ever gave me a ticket (luck of the draw); and
No one said I couldn’t use Grammy’s handicapped parking permit (uhh … the law does).
More often than not, my conversations with these complainants reveal that they knew they were parked illegally (you can almost imagine them looking around to see who was watching when they parked) but were willing to take the risk of getting caught in order to have the convenience of a better parking location … of course that changed when they got caught!
It’s always an interesting balance when we at the police department get complaints from our residents about the conduct of other residents. As most are aware, beyond the laws of the state of Maine, which we enforce every day, the city of Presque Isle has a variety of ordinances that pertain to our everyday activities within city limits. These ordinances provide guidance and rules for everything: how an individual or corporation may do business within Presque Isle, controlling our pets, code enforcement related matters, floodplain management, public assemblies and everything in-between.
Many of these ordinances are important to some and completely useless to others, but in the end, they are all intended to provide consistency and predictability for our residents and government officials; also to protect and improve the quality of life of the people who live here. Many of these ordinances provide for sanctions (fines) to be imposed upon violation and of course, the police department is often times the vehicle for initiating these sanctions.
I urge all who reside in, travel through, or visit Presque Isle to take some time to familiarize themselves with the City’s ordinances; they are located at City Hall or the City’s website.
Matthew J. Irwin is chief of the Presque Isle Police Department. He can be reached at 764-2535 or via e-mail at pipd@maine.rr.com.
