Crime, high taxes, are among the reasons people move out of big cities. Here's another: Getting nitpicked to death, especially when it costs money.
For instance, after Little Marathon Pundit was born, I had to sell my Honda CRX, a sports car, because there was no backseat for a baby-carrier. I did the usual things, I placed an ad in the paper and I forked over a couple of dollars for a "For Sale" sign to place on the window of the vehicle. Which earned me two parking tickets. That's because in Chicago, where I lived at the time, it is illegal to place "For Sale" signs in car windows, even while the vehicle is parked.
I live in the suburbs now.
Philadelphian Peggy Stabert found out the expensive way about an equally ridiculous law in Philly.
From Monica Yant Kinney's Philadelphia Inquirer column:
Stabert has spent most of her 62 years on Earth in the city, but it took moving to Stone Harbor for her to encounter this doozy: In Philadelphia, it is illegal to park on the same block twice in one day.
I am not making this up. What you see as a driver's dream come true - finding a spot on a block with or without meters, not once but twice on the same errand-filled day! - the Philadelphia Parking Authority (PPA) sees as a moneymaking opportunity.
Just as Chicago did with my "For Sale" signs.
Technorati tags:
Chicago 
illinois 
law 
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philadelphia 
Pennsylvania
3 comments:
Philly is rapidly becoming Chi-town 2.
How about this: In California, outside Los Angeles, next to a beautiful seaside state park. A nice "looks like I can park here" place that is occupied by many cars. Come back 3 hours later, and 10 cars have each a $64 ticket! $640 in one sweep. Nice revenue for a Sunday!
Annoying parking ticket - pay or dispute?
Seems like they could free up some resources for more important areas of law enforcement if they didn't have to keep track of how many times each car had parked in any given block.
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