Dear Editor:
Your Honor, the Mayor
My family visited Hoboken, from Indiana, on 6/28/2011 with the express purpose of seeing Carlo’s Bake Shop. I was fortunate to find a parking space in the 400 block of Washington Street. The sign stated that this was two hour parking zone. I did not see any parking meter so I assumed that I had two hours to park. When we returned right at two hours later, I find a parking ticket for “overtime meter parking” violation. The ticket was printed at 11:20am, just under an hour before the two hours was to expire. Naturally, I couldn’t understand why I got a ticket when I appeared to have met the conditions of parking at this location.
On 7/6/11 I spoke with someone at the Parking Authority to ask why I got a ticket for a meter violation when there wasn’t any meter at my parking spot. I understand now that there is a meter located elsewhere in the block from which I was supposed to get a ticket and place it on the dash of our car. This is a totally new concept for me. Where I come from, we have the traditional parking meters located at any parking spot that requires metered parking.
My complaint is that, in light of the many out-of-state visitors you are getting, your signage doesn’t explain what to do to park legally on Washington Street in Hoboken. All I recall is that the sign stated “2 Hour Parking” along with some time-of-day restrictions. There isn’t any mention of obtaining a parking permit from a parking meter that is located somewhere removed from the parking spot. I don’t have any problem paying for privilege to park along the curb but I do have a problem being told, after the fact, that I should have asked someone what to do to park legally on the street. There wasn’t any indication that what I did was illegal. If the sign had referenced a ticket kiosk at the corner (or where ever it is) that would have suggested to me that there was more to parking here than a two hour limit. This is a totally new concept to me in street parking.
Needless to say, being from Indiana, I will not be traveling to Hoboken simply to appeal this ticket before a judge but I would hope that you would ask the Parking Authority to consider enhancements to the signage to help your out-of-state visitors understand this nuance of parking in Hoboken.
Dan Hollenberg