I got a ticket.

[Quantrill]

OHH.  And the cops have this nifty little survey for us citizens to fill out...

http://www.manchesternh.gov/Forms/MPDCitizenSurvey.asp

[error]

Hm, should I tell them how I REALLY feel?

[Dreepa]

Ha My town knows that winter ends on April 1st!

[eques]

I have to wonder if the person who came up with the idea for an "official" first days of the seasons was somehow related to King Canute.

Here's a crazy thought--let's call them what they are: vernal/autumnal equinox, summer/winter solstice.  Winter in NH starts well before the winter solstice most years, anyway.

Official seasons are about as silly as Daylight Saving Time. 

[margomaps]

Ok, I'm not trying to be a jerk here, or defend a stupid policy, or take the lovely meter maid's side, or argue just for the sake of arguing (which I sometimes do).  But doesn't snow sometimes fall in Manchester as late as mid May? 

Given that the city is currently responsible for clearing the roads, I do not believe it is unreasonable that the city has an enforceable "winter" policy for which side of the road needs to be open for plowing in the event of snowfall.  This just make sense.

Is it dumb that the cutoff date is arbitrarily set to May 15th?  Probably.  But any arbitrary date chosen will probably be dumb in one way or another.  Having an adjustable cutoff date depending on current weather conditions is probably not going to work very well -- it's too challenging.  Remember, this is the government we're talking about.

Is it dumb that this meter maid decided to enforce the policy during exceptionally warm weather when it was obvious it wasn't going to snow that day?  Probably.  I personally think it's impractical to require that the meter maid should be expected to know whether it is supposed to snow during any given 24 hour period.  You have to admit that occasionally a warm day is followed by a cold night, and it certainly could snow.  Weather is too unpredictable, period (hence the arbitrary May 15th cutoff date).  The way I would administer the policy is this: if it's snowing out right now then the meter maid can give a ticket, otherwise not.  If your car is on the wrong side of the road when the plows come through, you can be towed and will have to pay the towing fee.  That puts the burden on YOU to anticipate snow and get your car on the correct side of the street.  It also gives you the freedom to park on any side of the street you want -- without fear of violating an ordinance -- if you don't believe it's going to snow imminently.

That said, blind, unthinking application of bureaucratic dictates often leads to bizarre and patently unjust results/punishments.  This is a huge problem, and it so frequently occurs that I wonder if the movie "Brazil" wasn't so far off in some of its predictions of bureaucracy run-amok after all.

What I find most disturbing is the expectation in this case that "ignorance of the law is no excuse for not following it."  If I were in your situation, I'd hinge my case on the text that error quoted below:

The city does not put up signs when the ban goes into effect. Rather, in early November, there is extensive information about the ban in the "Manchester Union Leader-New Hampshire Sunday News", on local radio stations and on WMUR-TV Channel 9.

This is just absurd in my opinion.  There's so much that can go wrong here.  Suppose I neither read the Manchester Union Leader-New Hampshire Sunday News, nor do I listen to local radio stations, nor watch any TV (not to mention WMUR-TV Channel 9).  The city is saying that I must use those particular forms of media, or else suffer the consequences of an ordinance it never bothered to tell me about.  Further, the city is implicitly acknowledging that if I happened to not be in the area during November, there would be no way I'd know about the ordinance.  That's insane!  What if I was out of town during November, or what if I moved to the city sometime between October and May 15th?

A simple solution to this policy is that anyone hit with this ordinance for the first time is exempt.  You just need to plead ignorance based on the lack of notification that the city admitted to openly on its website.  But if you get another ticket for the same reason afterward, you can't use that excuse again.  I think even the government should be able to handle that level of complexity.

But the real question is, what is the meaning of "odd side of the street" or "even side of the street" if the street in question is a cul-de-sac?   

[Quantrill]

Margo, I understand your point and I don't have a problem with the ODD/EVEN setup, but a little sense here would go a long way toward not pissing off the citizenry.  If there is no snow on the ground to begin with, the only purpose for writing these citations is to make money.  And that is complete Bull****. 

Like you noted, we must read the paper or listen to the news ( I have no tv and no radio).  And at the city's page where it says: 'I just moved here.  How should I know about this rule?' the city's response is - 'it's  a good idea to check with the local police when you move to a new place'.  How crazy is that?

At the very least, they could give 1st time offenders a freaking warning.  And the parking situation sucks.  Cars from both sides of the streets have to park on 1 side.  My car is currently way down the street and hopefully it'll still be there when I need it later today...

[Dreepa]

How should I know about this rule?' the city's response is - 'it's  a good idea to check with the local police when you move to a new place'.  oday...

AH yes... in the Soviet Union if you moved you had to 'check in' with the local police.  Maybe Manchester would like to join the former USSR?

[dalebert]

If they're going to write parking tickets, there should be very clear SIGNS in the area describing when you can and can't park there.

[SAK]

If you go to court, don't RE-present yourself.  Present yourself.  The two are not the same.  I don't think one can RE-present oneself.  Or if you did, you'd be dishonest.

[error]

Given that the city is currently responsible for clearing the roads, I do not believe it is unreasonable that the city has an enforceable "winter" policy for which side of the road needs to be open for plowing in the event of snowfall.  This just make sense.

They don't.

In the event of snowfall, they want BOTH sides clear. They only want one side clear if there's no snow.

[aries]

Ah, bureaucratic stupidity:

The Winter Parking Ban is in effect between November 15 - May 15, from 12:00 midnight to 7:00 am. It is a city ordinance that has been on the books for a number of years. The city does not put up signs when the ban goes into effect. Rather, in early November, there is extensive information about the ban in the "Manchester Union Leader-New Hampshire Sunday News", on local radio stations and on WMUR-TV Channel 9. During the Ban, you must alternate parking spots depending on the date. Odd numbered days park on the odd numbered side of the street, even numbered days park on the even numbered side of the street. Remember when you park your vehicle at night, think of what the date is after midnight and park accordingly.

May 15th?!? May motherfucking 15th?!????

More bureaucratic stupidity.

Absurd.

It might be an old regulation.
It used to snow well into may in many parts of the state.

[David]

they got me earlier in the year.  I have no intention of paying the fine.  Somehow, they found my actual address and sent me a nice little letter informing/reminding me of the extortion that I have not dutifully paid in.  I suspect the post office gave em the address.