This week’s Letter of the Week comes in from a man we know only as “Hob.” We can’t think of a more pressing issue for our city than the injustices heaped upon the legion’s of revelers who, too drunk to make it back downtown to pick up their cars before the stroke of noon, find themselves saddled with double digit parking tickets. Forget AIDS in Africa, the collapse of the global financial markets and your 401K, we’ve got an emergency here. Thanks for bringing this travesty to light, Hob, we’re sure that our city fathers will jump on it. If you’re out there and sober, come on down to the Source offices to collect your booty, a pint glass and a beverage to fill it. (We’re in a no-ticketing zone.)
We’ve got a parking ticket situation in downtown Bend and urge the community to do something about it.
I often find myself drunk downtown on a Friday night and unable to drive my car home. So I do the responsible thing, and find another way. Recently, however, I have come back in the morning to $22 parking tickets. Twenty two dollars isn’t the easiest thing to come up with, especially if you just broke the bank last night. It’s complete bullshit, and something needs to be done.
1) There is no reason why they should hand out parking tickets when there is ample parking available. Last week I was parked in the sidelines parking lot with a total of 5 other cars!
And
2) They are discouraging me to avoid driving drunk. Pushing people like me to get behind the wheel and do something stupid. Diamond Parking is the devil, and we need some serious downtown parking reform before someone can’t afford to party.
Hob
This article appears in Dec 18-24, 2008.
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If you have the money to get drunk on, you have the money to pay tickets. Grow up.
Hob,
You should have contested the citations, telling the Judge that you didn’t want to drink and drive. He may have reduced the citation by a fifth….
Hob’s Theme Song must be “Fight for the Right to Get Drunk”. Maybe he should change it to “Stupid is as Stupid Does”.
Come on can’t anyone see Hob’s logic here? It is like when you get stupid drunk in public and can’t hardly find your car, let alone drive it,,,should’nt there be some concession made to someone in that kind of drunkin fog when they reach down into thier pea brain and decide “hey maybe I should not drive
drunk” Please let’s give this guy a break !!!!
Hob,
When I know I am going to be downtown drinking I don’t even drive my car -that eliminates any temptation to get behind the wheel along with the parking ticket issue. I either get a ride from a friend or take a cab home. Just factor in the cab fare in your entertainment budget-
Really? People think that they should be given a break because they made the choice to drive downtown and then drink? How about this logic, take a taxi both ways or just don’t drink when you chose to drive!
Really? How about this logic: don’t drive downtown when you feel like drinking or take a taxi both ways. A rule is a rule and made for a purpose. Please don’t consider yourself a saint for not driving and then whining about a ticket. YOU MAKE YOUR OWN CHOICES! TAKE RESPONSIBILITY!
HOB, Did you ever think to hire a designated driver during your over-consumption events? When I went to Washington DC with my High School Senior class, we hired Ted Kennedy. Based upon your distorted drinking thinking illogic, you might see if there is an AA meeting within walking distance of your home on Saturday night.
HOB, I get your point. The danger of outsourcing ANY citation based activity to a company is that the company – in this case Diamond Parking – is out to make money. They will ticket at any and all opportunities because they are paid to do that. Also, in Bend, we need people to have good and steady paying jobs. What gets me about this case is that when government outsources a job the people who work for the outsourced company will make less money, often no benefits, etc. The whole mechanism is broken. Parking officers should be a city paid position, and parking laws should follow standard city hours, so that parking overnight is not a crime. I’m sorry about your ticket.
Driving a car is not a birthright, it is rather a priviledge. For the next ten weekends I am going to park my ass in front of a few of the local watering holes and sit and call in DUI drivers as they do not deserve to drive at all.
The second DUII in Oregon now carries a 8 year without a license which is how it should be.