Snow wasn’t all some Denver residents in the 1800 block of South Pearl Street found on their cars Tuesday.
At least five parking citations were issued by Denver Public Works’ Right of Way Enforcement to vehicles illegally parked along the street, a move residents say was completely unfair because of the weather.
After dropping his two daughters off at school, Nick Bottinelli, 40, said he did the best he could to park along the street despite the falling snow and snow along the curb. A few hours later, Bottinelli returned to his car and noticed he had a parking citation for illegally parking on the curb.
Four of his neighbors’ vehicles also had parking citations for either parking on the curb or for parking too far away from it.
“There has been so many problems with snow removal on my block — how can Denver expect residents to park perfectly?” said Bottinelli, in response to receiving the $25 citation. “I’d like to see someone who could figure out where the curb is when they are parking around so much ice buildup.”
Bottinelli said he doesn’t expect the city to plow residential streets, but he does expect them to be a little lenient when it comes to issuing parking citations after a snowstorm.
Weather is not a consideration when parking citations are issued, city officials say.
“I completely sympathize with (Bottinelli) and understand where he and other citizens are coming from, but they need to understand our situation,” said Ann Williams, director of communications for the Denver Department of Public Works. “Parking on the curb is illegal, and since the vehicle-control agent noted (Bottinelli’s) tires on the curb, the curb was visible at the time the ticket was issued.”
According to Denver Traffic Investigation Detective Sharon Hughes, if a vehicle is on the curb under any circumstance, it is illegal.
“If you live in a neighborhood, then you know where the curb sides are,” Hughes said. “You also should know it is your responsibility to remove snow from sidewalks within a 24-hour period.”
Williams said residents need to be aware of their surroundings.
“Move your vehicle as soon as you see you’ve parked on the curb,” Williams said. Bottinelli’s “situation is unfortunate, but citizens do have the right to dispute their citations.”
Bottinelli brought his citation to a parking magistrate and was able to get it reduced by $10.
However, he said he plans to fight the citation further next month.
“It’s outrageous Denver is so picky,” Bottinelli said. “Do they expect us to go out to our cars with a pickax?”
