Case Date:

6/30/2016

Mr. Mayor: Hello, my name is Jenee' Trimble and I manage an apartment building on the corner of 6th and Washington. When the parking meters were first installed, the City accidentally added an extra parking space. That space happens to be right in front of my building. To correct the error, the white stripe that marked the parking lane was covered with black paint to blend in with the pavement, and the curb painted yellow. The black paint has since worn off, exposing the white line again. This has caused confusion, and although there is a yellow curb, people identify it as a parking space due to the white lines and mistakingly park there often. I have notified the parking department of this error for over a year. Recently, I had a 17 year old girl from Nashville Indiana doing some painting at my building. She parked in that spot by mistake. I have tried to appeal the $20 ticket, but the parking department has refused to waive it. Instead I was sent the City ordinance that addresses yellow curbs. I understand that you can't park where there is a yellow curb, but nowhere else in the city is there a yellow curb that is also marked with white lines, identifying the space for parking. The city ordinance defining a designated parking space is as follows: 15.04.090- "parking space" means any space that is designated for the parking of a single vehicle by lines painted or marked on the curb or surface of the street . The space is clearly marked with a white line. The line shouldn't even be there, but is as a result of an error. I've reported for over a year. For it to go this long without being addressed is negligence. It seems unfair that someone is being fined for an error. It's misleading. I've tried talking to the Clerk and to the Legal Department. The Clerk refuses to talk to me directly, and Legal has discussed this with Parking and has decided to uphold the ordinance concerning yellow curbs. The space also falls under the ordinance for a designated parking space, so who is deciding which one to follow, when it falls under both, and is a mistake to begin with? Legal told me that the line is "faintly visible". I've included a picture of that line and the actual parking line next to it. The actual parking line is more faded than the line that's a mistake. All I have asked for is for the ticket to be waived and the white line painted black again. I think this whole situation is ridiculous and able to be easily corrected. I'm in management, and if there was confusion caused by my error, I would address it and fix it. Can you please help me in this situation, or refer me to someone who can? Thank you for your time. Jenee' Trimble Sent from my iPhone