"And they might come out and decide to rent an apartment, or buy a house."
Yes, unless they come one of the other 329 days of the year and fall victim to the over-zealous ticketing. Recently I visited Coventry for dinner and socializing, as I often do. I put four hours on the meter, but alas returned four hours and fifteen minutes later to find a ticket. I should know better. I have lived in the Heights for fourteen years. I am well-aware that Cleveland Height's finest will be there ready to pounce as soon as the meter runs out (or, according to the once publicized case of Josh Cribbs, BEFORE the meter runs out). Anyone who frequents Coventry has undoubtedly witnessed the vigilance of the ticket-writing operation. I get that meters serve a purpose, and tickets = revenue. I just don't understand why there is such a concerted effort to penalize people patronizing local businesses that sorely need our patronage. Aren't there more pressing crimes being committed in Cleveland Heights, that would be a better utilization of this manpower? The $40,000 works out to 2,667 $15 tickets. By the mayor's calculations this means they average 74 tickets per night! Something tells me this will increase during the non-free days to make up the $40,000. I take full responsibility for my parking meter transgressions, but for me it has finally become a matter of principal. Thanks for the free weekends, but I will miss the Coventry and Lee Road businesses the other 329 days per year.
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Mojo
4:51 pm on Thursday, January 17, 2013
"And they might come out and decide to rent an apartment, or buy a house."
Yes, unless they come one of the other 329 days of the year and fall victim to the over-zealous ticketing. Recently I visited Coventry for dinner and socializing, as I often do. I put four hours on the meter, but alas returned four hours and fifteen minutes later to find a ticket. I should know better. I have lived in the Heights for fourteen years. I am well-aware that Cleveland Height's finest will be there ready to pounce as soon as the meter runs out (or, according to the once publicized case of Josh Cribbs, BEFORE the meter runs out). Anyone who frequents Coventry has undoubtedly witnessed the vigilance of the ticket-writing operation. I get that meters serve a purpose, and tickets = revenue. I just don't understand why there is such a concerted effort to penalize people patronizing local businesses that sorely need our patronage. Aren't there more pressing crimes being committed in Cleveland Heights, that would be a better utilization of this manpower? The $40,000 works out to 2,667 $15 tickets. By the mayor's calculations this means they average 74 tickets per night! Something tells me this will increase during the non-free days to make up the $40,000. I take full responsibility for my parking meter transgressions, but for me it has finally become a matter of principal. Thanks for the free weekends, but I will miss the Coventry and Lee Road businesses the other 329 days per year.