Win By Showing Up

Two months ago, yours truly received a parking ticket from the City of Cambridge. I was parked between two signs designating a zone as "No Parking - Loading Zone - between 8AM and 6PM." I had parked in that zone after hours at least a dozen times beforehand with no problem. The absence of any further signs suggested to me that parking was unrestricted during all other hours. Well, imagine my surprise when I returned to my car after 9PM to find a ticket citing me for parking in a permit zone without the requisite sticker. While the rest of the block was signed "Permit Parking Only - between 6PM and 8AM," no such signs were in place where I was parked.

I thought I had an open and shut case. The City of Cambridge has an online function allowing you to appeal a parking ticket. I figured I could just write in, explain that I was parked in a zone that wasn't signed for permit parking, and I'd be all set. Two weeks later, I received a letter explaining that my appeal was rejected, though I could request a hearing in person. I returned the hearing request form, and after another two weeks, received another letter telling me to report to the Cambridge Traffic Department at 2:45 p.m. on December 14, 2006 for my hearing, with documentation supporting my claim.

My case was as follows: The signs labeling the zone said nothing about restrictions between 6PM and 8AM, so one would reasonably assume there were no restrictions. The rest of the block was diligently marked with Permit Parking signs, and all of those were in conjunction with metered spaces, so lack of Permit Parking signs in non-metered must be presumed deliberate. I had photographs of every sign on that street as documentation and was ready to plead my case.

Rule #1: Sometimes you win just by showing up

When I entered the hearing room, I was greeted by the very friendly hearing officer. He directed me to sign in on the docket sheet, and while I was pulling my laptop computer out of the bag, he pulled up my record on his system. He then informed me that my ticket had already been dismissed. While I was curious as to why, and while I wanted to know if I was indeed parked illegally or if the parking officer had ticketed me in error, I knew better than to push my luck. I came to get my ticket dismissed, and that's exactly what happened. So, I very hastily packed up my computer, bid the hearing officer farewell, and disappeared, hoping he would instantly forget about me as soon as I walked out the door.

Rule #2: Once you get what you're looking for, don't give them a chance to change their mind