Denver Easter

I'm coming home tonight!!

also, here is my parking ticket defense. More on that later. I dearly love Hunter but the boy is cursed with parking abilities.

April 9, 2009

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing to contest a parking ticket received on the morning of April 6, 2009.

The ticket information is as follows: ticket number: 0056324020 15; date and time: April 6, 2009 at 9:50 AM. The ticket is for a violation of street cleaning, 9-64-040 (b) and is a fine of $50.00.

I regret to inform you that I will not be paying the $50.00 and here is why:

The morning of April 6, 2009, I woke up shortly before nine to move my vehicle, a Honda Civic, from where it was parked on N. Magnolia Ave. The west side of the street was decorated with signs indicating that street sweeping was to occur that day, and I wanted to be prudent and avoid a ticket.

I moved it to Ardmore, and looked around for any street cleaning signs. I could see none. There were strings tied to the trees, though, so I assumed that the side of the street that I was putting my car on had been cleaned the day before. Also, most of the block was filled with cars.

There had been a windstorm the night before; I was kept up part of the night by the wind. When I first noticed the ticket, I believed that perhaps the signs had blown off. But then I looked on N. Magnolia, and sure enough, bright signs hung on most of the trees. It was apparent then that something else had removed the signs from the trees.

I will assume that you are going to be receiving many complaints about this particular morning and this particular street simply because there were no street sweeping signs. I was informed by a neighbor that kids have been stealing things off of cars lately, so I will assume that the reason that there were no signs was the result of some foul-play by the children of the neighborhood.

This means that at the time of the “violation,” there was no notice that any of the cars on the block were violating anything. I assure you that had I seen a sign for street sweeping, I would have found another parking spot.

I believe that the third point under acceptable defenses is valid here: · The relevant signs prohibiting or restricting parking were missing or obscured.

The pictures that I have enclosed were taken at approximately 10:00 AM the morning in question, so about 10 minutes after the tickets were issued. The officer was still in the area at the time, issuing other tickets. These pictures also clearly show the street sweeper, so in case the belief is that the pictures were taken after the allotted no parking time, the pictures will prove immediacy.

The pictures are labeled on the back with the ten digit citation number (or perhaps 12, I am including the two zeroes at the beginning just for accuracy) as well as the Exhibit letter to avoid confusion.

Picture number one will be classified as Exhibit A. This picture shows my open car door (far left of the frame) and the tree directly next to it. On the tree, string is visible, but there is not a parking sign attached to it. You’ll also notice the other cars parked in front of me that fill the block. If you’ve ever driven down a street on street sweeping day, you’ve noticed that the street is nearly empty save a few poor souls who have neglected the prominently displayed signs. This street is parked as per usual, as if it were any other normal day. (All of these cars got tickets as well.)

Exhibit B is a close up of a skinny tree further west down the block to show that there were also no signs within reasonable distance of where I parked to inform me that it was street sweeping day. My car is visible in the top left corner of the frame to establish proximity. Notice again the lack of sign.

Exhibit C and D are the same picture, one as a long shot and one as a close-up. The long shot shows the intersection of Ardmore (in the foreground) and Magnolia (running horizontally left to right in the frame). It shows the stop sign and the tree with a string tied around it as well as what was later determined to be a street sweeping sign. It is completely and utterly unreadable. It is extremely difficult to see and is not legible by any means.

Exhibit D is a close up of the crumpled piece of almost cardboard. I certainly cannot read what is contained in that sign. Therefore, once again, · The relevant signs prohibiting or restricting parking were missing or obscured. (Chicago Department of Revenue Website).

Exhibit E is my last picture from the morning of April 6, 2009. It shows my car very clearly (you can read the license plate); it shows the street sweeper in the background (indicating timeliness), and it shows all of the trees lined up down the block. None of them have any signs on them whatsoever.

I hope that I presented compelling evidence as to why I will not be paying the fine for the parking ticket 0056324020 15, issued on April 6, 2009. As I have stated twice before, “The relevant signs prohibiting or restricting parking were missing or obscured.” I have provided evidence to prove that assertion and sincerely hope that you will cancel this parking ticket.

I appreciate you taking the time to read this and look at the pictures that I have provided. I will eagerly await information regarding your judgement.

Have a wonderful day!

Most sincerely,

Katherine Barry

Film Class Project!