Q. Paying for a parking permit is a requirement and a social contract i see the value of and abide by. I am, however, frustrated at the lack of enforcement of this social contract. I live on a street and see constantly numerous cars that occupy available slots intended for people who live on the street and pay the parking permit fee. There are at least 5 vehicles i know of that have been parked either permanently or on and off for long stretches of time on said street, and i have had to park on a street over because these cars occupy spots and they dont have permits.
I guess i am frustrated by the fact that i am required to pay, but it seems i could have done without paying as there are no consequences for paying to park in city designated zones. Which begs the question, if the social contract is not being honored , why should i keep paying?
I am talking both about students who park in these places for class but more importantly about the ones who seem to be using these spots as theirs.
Any comment on this matter would be appreciated.
A. If you witness vehicles parking in residential permit zones without the proper permit displayed, you can report those to Dispatch at 721-2526 and an officer will be sent to check for violations. Officers proactively enforce the residential zones, but often have to respond to calls and are committed to workloads that may not allow them to find all violations. Also, per City of Laramie Municipal Code #10.36.100 there is a time limit for anyone parking in front of or alongside another’s property—see below for details. You may call Dispatch to report violations of this code as well.
10.36.100- Parking in front of or alongside of another's property—Time limit.
It is unlawful for any person to park any vehicle for a continuous period of more than twenty-four hours on a street within the city in front of or along the side of property belonging to or occupied by another person without the express consent of the owner or occupant. The penalty for violation of this section is provided in Section 10.36.350 of this chapter. See Section 10.06.010(H) of this code concerning the city's power to have vehicles parked in violation of this section removed.
(Prior code § 23-26.1; Ord. 1120 § 2, 1993; Ord. 1436 § 3, 2004)