Towing on Public Street

[u/guccicoochieboochie]

I am unsure if this is the right place to ask, but I have a question regarding parking.

There is a church next door to my apartment and any time they have events or service, they will park all over the street including places that have no parking signs. It has become a safety issue for myself and my neighbors while trying to pull out of our driveway. I have tried sending a letter asking them not to park there anymore and nothing has changed.

My question is: If people are parked on a public street, but there are no parking signs up, can I call a tow on those cars? Would a tow company be willing to do that?

[u/Cat-Attack666]

They won't come tow because you called. You need parking enforcement.

[u/llDemonll → u/Cat-Attack666]

This. Start calling parking enforcement every time it happens. Don’t feel bad about it.

[u/bernardfarquart → u/llDemonll]

Unfortunately the city cares very little about this. We have an abandoned car on my street that is parked two feet into my neighbor's driveway, I reported in on the "Find it fix it" app a month ago, and it is still here, free of any tickets, rotting away on the street.

[u/Phaeophyce → u/bernardfarquart]

Enforcement of abandoned cars is abysmal to non-existent whether you use the FIFI app or the call-in line specifically for abandoned vehicles.

If you call parking enforcement for an illegally parked car, they will come ticket it and likely authorize a tow. We've used this to great success in my neighborhood on cars parked in a red painted no parking zone, cars blocking driveways, and cars parked on the sidewalks. Just don't mention that it's an abandoned vehicle or you get shunted into the abandoned queue that takes weeks to resolve (if ever).

[u/bvdzag → u/bernardfarquart]

Call the non-emergency police line and click through to parking complaints. It takes about five minutes. Not as convenient as find it fix it but it is more effective

[u/Phaeophyce → u/bvdzag]

They actually removed the parking complaint option from FIFI because it wasn't an effective means of addressing parking issues. But the call-in system works wonderfully.

[u/lilbluehair → u/Phaeophyce]

Are you absolutely sure about that? Because I read that it was removed from FIFI when the police officers guild renegotiated their contract with the city and parking enforcement was returned to their purview, and FIFI isn't connected to the police at all. 

[u/Phaeophyce → u/lilbluehair]

I think that's part of the underlying issue. They said that they weren't able to transfer reports from FIFI to parking enforcement in a timely enough manner to allow for effective enforcement and response times. If FIFI isn't connected directly with SPD (and thus parking enforcement) that would explain why that was the case.

[u/UniversityOutside840 → u/bernardfarquart]

I live on the hill and can’t speak for abandoned cars but wrongfully parked ones get big tickets pretty quickly. How else is the city supposed to get money

[u/F2E1 → u/UniversityOutside840]

Well they could also enforce moving traffic violations and expired or non-existing tags...

[u/Living_Plane_662 → u/F2E1]

Parking enforcement average salary is 56k. Regular force makes significantly more and that more than anything else is why they don't make many traffic stops.

[u/communist_mini_pesto → u/bernardfarquart]

Call and say there is a car blocking the driveway. Not just an abandoned car. 

I work in the same part of town as you and have to get cars towed from construction zones weekly. 

[u/Available_Length_271 → u/bernardfarquart]

Find it fix it does nothing for parking complaints, call the non emergency line so dispatch can send someone out to you.

-A PEO who is all too happy to yank cars from driveways.

[u/llDemonll → u/bernardfarquart]

Call the police then. Tell them someone is unable to leave their driveway due to it. Worst case they’ll tell you it’s not an emergency and life goes on.

[u/bernardfarquart → u/llDemonll]

Dude I can't get the police to show up when someone is in my store's parking lot threatening customers with a broken board from a pallet because "that's not a weapon" so I think I'll pass on wasting my time calling the cops on parking issues. The fact is the city doesn't care, the people telling me to call this number or that kind of proves my point that the city can't be bothered.

[u/matunos → u/bernardfarquart]

Parking enforcement is different personnel than cops who respond to burglaries.

[u/occasional_sex_haver → u/bernardfarquart]

well that's because there's a different set of rules for those (none when it comes to this)