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vincejoy OP t1_jca32km wrote

Reply to comment by BuckyWunderlick007 in Parking ticket issued at 1:40pm for a meter expiring at 1:40pm by vincejoy

In practice I get it, but on what legal grounds is the ticket valid if it was issued at 1:40pm when my receipt says I can park until 1:40pm? My point is, you can't give someone a ticket in the time frame for which the meter is paid, just because you know they are not at the meter and that it's about to expire. At 1:41pm I wouldn't dispute it, but now...

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SheeEttin t1_jca7d3w wrote

Until 1:40, not through 1:40.

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pattyorland t1_jcbc5pj wrote

Where does it say that? If the city wants that to be the rule, they need to be clear about it.

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SheeEttin t1_jcbd3hk wrote

On their receipt, according to them. "Until" is perfectly clear to everyone else, as far as I know.

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pattyorland t1_jcbgmsw wrote

The original poster said "until" in one of their comments, but they didn't say it was printed on the receipt.

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SheeEttin t1_jcblpgg wrote

In the comment I replied to:

> my receipt says I can park until 1:40pm

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BuckyWunderlick007 t1_jca3hlg wrote

The first appeal is via mail, in person is only if that is denied. Send it in and see what they say. You can always pay with no late fee if it is denied. I’ve also found they are less likely to dismiss tickets for out of state visitors as they would be for a car registered in Cambridge. It only costs you a stamp though.

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vincejoy OP t1_jca3nhh wrote

Thanks for the info!

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zepporamone t1_jca835f wrote

I ran into a similar situation about two years ago. Returned to my car the minute it was supposed to run out only to find a ticket that had already been issued sometime within the preceding sixty seconds. The city dismissed it on the first appeal. Granted, I'm a resident (no idea if any of that played into the decision) but it's worth a shot.

If memory serves, you can make that first appeal online. They'll ask you to submit documentation, so if you've got a paper receipt, scan it.

After that, just be prepared to wait. It ended up taking somewhere in the neighborhood of 6 months for them to process my appeal and send a dismissal notice. I actually ended up paying the ticket at one point (its existence was preventing me from getting my resident permit) so the response letter stated that they had found in my favor and would be dismissing my outstanding fine of $0.00. About 3-4 months after that, out of the blue, I received a check from the city for the fine that I had originally paid.

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dyqik t1_jcagscn wrote

Depends if the parking expires at 1:40:00.000 or 1:40:59.999.

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commentsOnPizza t1_jcc6le9 wrote

Not to get technical, but "until 1:40pm" doesn't mean "through 1:40pm". "You can park here before the time is 1:40pm. Once the clock shows 1:40pm, you are over your time. You can park here until a clock shows 1:40pm."

To make it really clear, the first minute is 1:10:00-1:10:59.99999. The first minute doesn't extend until the end of 1:11. Then that would be two minutes. The first minute extends from 1:10 until 1:11, not through 1:11.

I agree that the city shouldn't ticket until 1:41 in your case because people have trouble understanding situations like this.

Imagine you're a doctor scheduling 1 hour appointments. If someone is scheduled from 9am until 10am and another person is scheduled from 10am to 11am, the first person doesn't continue to be seen at 10am. They are seen until 10am. Otherwise, the second person's appointment would start at 10:01am. Likewise, your parking goes from 1:10pm until 1:40pm. As soon as 1:40pm started, your time had expired.

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vincejoy OP t1_jcf8ey7 wrote

Totally get it. And you're right. But if we're getting technical... what if I paid my parking at 1:10:59? Don't I get to park for 30 minutes exactly until 1:40:59? It goes both ways imo. Their system probably knows the exact time, my meter was most likely expired by a few seconds and that's why they issued the ticket.

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