Ignoring parking tickets in Y’town commonplace

If you’ve watched just one episode of the cable-TV reality show “Parking Wars” filmed in Detroit and Philadelphia, you would know that getting a parking ticket in the city of Youngstown is a definite bargain.

Which is why the number of repeat offenders identified by Youngstown Clerk of Courts Sarah Brown-Clark has grabbed our attention.

A parking ticket in the city costs $10, which goes up to $20 if the fine isn’t paid within 20 days. After 30 days, the penalty goes up to $30.

A ticket for parking in a handicapped spot is $25. The fine increases to $50 if not paid after 10 days.

Thus, when Brown-Clark released a list of the top 60 people with the most unpaid tickets who owe a total of $110,924, we recalled several episodes of the TV show “Parking Wars” in which repeat violators in Philadelphia and Detroit found out the expensive way that breaking the law and then ignoring the penalties is financially foolish.

There was a segment in which a man driving an expensive sedan stopped in front of a grocery store, left the engine running and dashed in to buy a large bag of potato chips. When he came out a few minutes later, there was a ticket on his windshield and an employee of the parking authority telling him that his car was in a no-stopping zone.

Despite his pleas for leniency, he drove away with possibly the most expensive bag of chips.

The lesson from every episode of “Parking Wars” is the same: Break the law and you’ll pay – dearly

Against that backdrop, we applaud Brown-Clark for making it known that the days of parking illegally in Youngstown and then ignoring the citations are over.

The clerk of courts is especially perturbed with some of the 60 repeat offenders because they were given the chance to redeem themselves six years ago through an amnesty program. Few bothered to do right by the city.

She said she’s no longer interested in giving the scofflaws a break. Instead, she’s going to bring the hammer down.

“I’m putting a warrant block on [the top 60] so when they go to the BMV [Bureau of Motor Vehicles] they can’t renew until they pay us,” the Brown-Clark said.

But she isn’t stopping there.

Windshield barnacles

The clerk of court has asked city council to approve legislation that would give police the authority to put tire boots and/or windshield barnacles (described as giant parking tickets) on vehicles of the worst offenders.

“It’s unfortunate I have to do this, but they’re not fulfilling their responsibilities,” she said of the parking violators. “They just don’t follow through. They forced us to do this for us to get paid.”

Here’s an eyebrow-raising factoid: Overall, there’s $1 million in unpaid tickets, some dating back two decades. Many of the tickets were written on cars downtown or near Youngstown State University.

But this isn’t just about going after individuals who have flouted the law. It’s about fairness. There are many drivers who pay to park, move their cars when the time has expired and make sure they don’t illegally take up spaces reserved for the handicapped.

City officials have recognized that the demand for parking in the central business district will continue to grow with the expansion of the commerce and entertainment activities and the increase in YSU’s student population.

Indeed, the issue of parking arose last week during a meeting of the city’s board of zoning appeals at which several proposed variances for a $10 million housing complex for YSU students were discussed.

The original plans called for 92 new parking spaces, but the architects want to scale those back to 12.

The reduction triggered concerns from neighbors on Wick Avenue who noted that the lack of adequate parking would lead to an even greater number of violations than now occur.

As Aimee Fifarek, executive director of the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County, put it: “YSU has informed me they have adequate parking for all students ... But I do know human nature. Convenience is paramount.”

The Rev. Gayle Catinella of St. John’s Episcopal Church along Wick Avenue said that on any given day, YSU students occupy almost half the 47 parking spaces in the church lot. The students have no reason to be parking there, she said.

With the new housing complex accommodating an additional 185 students, the demand for parking will grow.

“We don’t have the staff to manage” the illegal parking, Rev. Catinella said.

But such problems may be alleviated if Clerk of Courts Brown-Clark gets city council’s backing to crack down on the violators.