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I read with dismay the Loose Lips item titled “Seeing Pink” (8/9). The article implied that the problem was with law enforcement and not with those who break the law. It even seemed to encourage destruction of public property as an effective way to evade the law. Sounds like anarchy to me.
If it’s hard to find parking, gee, maybe people should take a bus or Metro. No point in central D.C. is more than one block from the 72 bus routes or 14 Metro stations that serve downtown. If delivery vehicles (which I notice causing more than their share of traffic tie-ups) can’t get to delivery zones because of illegally parked cars, then everyone should be in favor of removing the problem by towing the cars away. This wouldn’t cost the city a cent if it allowed private towing companies to remove ticketed cars and bill the drivers for the towing.
I believe the problem is with those who view a parking fine as a “tax” rather than a punishment. If so, maybe we should raise the fines, hire even more parking enforcement personnel, and make more use of towing until the law-breaking stops. I have experienced too many traffic jams, blocked bus stops, and blocked crosswalks caused by illegal parking to have any sympathy with those who whine about getting caught putting their own convenience above the good of the entire city.
Georgetown
via the Internet