Originally published at: Navigating LA's Bureaucratic Maze to Recover Your Towed Car - Boing Boing
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Sounds like the system is operating exactly as intended…
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“But the plans were on display…”
“On display? I eventually had to go down to the cellar to find them.”
“That’s the display department.”
“With a flashlight.”
“Ah, well, the lights had probably gone.”
“So had the stairs.”
“But look, you found the notice, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” said Arthur, “yes I did. It was on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying ‘Beware of the Leopard.”
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Don’t give Elon Musk any ideas on their “car locator” that remotely activates the lithium ion battery fire. That way the dispute is reduced to an issue between the (Tesla) insurance company and the tow yard. Bonus points if other cars in the yard are reduced to cinders.
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For those with less flexible schedules or limited resources, such an ordeal could have dire consequences.
Exactly. Part of America’s war on poor people.
The writer didn’t try to get a comment from the L.A. parking authorities, but I can tell you what they would have said if somehow a taxpaying citizen could get a phone call through: “what are you gonna do about it? Go f*ck yourself”.
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That is exactly the response I got from the Chicago parking authority after an hours-long expedition to recover my vehicle from where it had been maliciously towed from a city parking lot. Now I take a picture of the space number so the company can’t claim I was in the next slot over.
Obligatory: Lincoln Park Pirates
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Plainly they’ll make less money if they become more efficient. It will be a long time coming.
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This time and money is yet another cost imposed by a policy of designing cites around the need to own a car.
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I mean, the writer needs to harrass the parking enforcement à la Michael McDougal (Randy Quaid) from The Paper (“No parking, except for me!”—Marion Sandusky Parking Commissioner)
Too bad the LA Times is a paper for the two-yacht family.
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On a business trip to LA about 15 years ago (ironically to meet with the LA Times IT team), my colleague and I arrived to town early and decided to get lunch near Koreatown. We came upon a stripmall area with several local restaurants that surrounded a parking lot anchored by a larger Staples store.
We found a parking spot and noted a nearby sign saying that parking was reserved for customers of the local businesses. We thought nothing about it as we put our laptops and bags in the trunk then went around the corner to check out the 3 or 4 restaurants on that side of the block (they were obviously part of the businesses attached to the parking lot.)
We had a quick lunch at the cuban place on the corner only to return to the parking lot and an empty space where our rental car once was. Elapsed time was maybe 15 mins.
As you can guess, the cuban place was not part of the approved parking list and they paid people to watch and follow people like us who park there illegally. They quickly summon a waiting truck who swoop in and tow you away. We were forced to wander west LA looking for a cab and then pay extortionist fees (I think it was around $400 bucks) to a shady tow company in order to get our stuff back.
Lesson learned the hard way. Always read the signs carefully.
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I had a comparatively positive recent towing experience. My city has recently been doing street repairs, with signs up that normally legit spots were tow away zones for a couple days. The days varied, based on where they planned to be working. My car was parked in front of a sign that said that they were towing, but not on the day it was parked there. And when I went to get my car, it was gone. It seemed unlikely that I’d messed up the dates. I called the number on the sign, and they didn’t have info if my car was towed, but they said that they don’t take it to a lot, they just move it a few blocks away. Which I had never heard of, but I would rather go for a walk and end up with my car for free, rather than paying $300.
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Where I live in West Oxfordshire, most public parking is free within limits, such as 1, 2 or 3 hour maximum stay. It works a treat. High street businesses in local towns are vibrant, thus rewarding the district council with better business rate returns.
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In SF, they’ll (try to) tow you before you even park!
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This is especially true in urban/and many suburban California cities. Strip mall businesses will closely monitor and strictly enforce parking because it impacts their own customers.
And they’ve been doing this since the 80s. I was with a friend whose car was towed in Fresno in 1987 because she parked at a strip mall and we walked to the apartment complex next door to pick up a friend. I pointed at the sign, but she was sure that it would be fine for 20-30 minutes. Nope.
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