People on the WUSA 9 Facebook page are all in a tizzy over Brittany Morehouse's story detailing just how many millions DC is raking in by annoying us all with zillions of parking tickets.
Natalie Pitts Raynor says of course it's all about the Benjamins:
"They are doing it to get the money; and don't bother to adjudicate -- that is a waste of your time. Even if you are right you are wrong. Its worth it to park in the extremely over priced parking garages just to avoid the lame tickets that DC gives."
But Woody Arenas says wait a second -- to be fair, it's not all bad:
"...I was written a ticket in DC by a parking officer. I asked him to explain the signs because I was totally confused. He couldn't even explain the signs to me even though he wrote the ticket. I wrote a letter to DC Dept of Public Works and they retracted the ticket..."
But Brian Reymann replies:
"Woody-- I believe you are a unicorn, as there is no proof of anyone ever winning the adjudication process. Unless you show up in person you will always lose the appeal, even if Brendan Sullivan put together your case and mailed it in. I have gotten many tickets while LEGALLY parked in the District, and have lost the mail-in appeal every frickin time."
Okay, I get it. Parking tickets are unpopular. And while city officials will tell you the original goal was to keep people from taking up priceless on-street parking all day long, let's be real: these tickets are a cash cow and in tough times DC is milking them for all they're worth.
But they're not alone. Try parking in Bethesda. I just got a $45 ticket for an expired parking meter! 45 bucks! It's the definition of legal highway robbery.
Email me at mailbag@wusa9.com.