Kawasaki Concours Forum
Mish mash => Open Forum => Topic started by: 12menzer on April 12, 2013, 08:11:20 PM
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Been waiting for the weather to turn so I can start riding my bike in. Parked in a zone 2 area and on day 2, received a ticket. Last year I parked in the same area about 15 times without an issue. A former coworker used to park in the same area for 6 months as well. We are both Maryland residents. I was clearly parking illegally but my bike takes up so little space. The same street has motorcycle metered parking and costs $16 a day. That is the same price a car pays. This sucks.
I even tried parking under the stairs of a nearby building and the building manager did not like it.
This is in the Georgetown area of DC.
Looks like I will be taking metro from now on. Thanks for reading. Just venting.
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I have never been to DC, and I doubt ever will.
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smart move. I call it District 9. If you have seen the movie, you will understand!
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So there must be certain areas that certain types of vehicles can park at certain times of the year? They want you to use public transportation by making it really hard to park in town I think? I've been to DC twice, it was ok, once as a tourist and once to Arlington for a funeral. Every American citizen should go to DC at least once and see their capitol.
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I've been living in the DC area since 84. I don't even remember when I took a car there and actually parked it. I always go in through Metro.
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Only time I've ever been to DC was during Rolling Thunder when you can park anywhere you want...or at least, that's what I did.
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I was at Harvard in Cambridge on Monday and parked in a nice spot I've seen used by others and myself in the past with no issues. I ended up with a $30 ticket. It was a bummer. I heard rumors that if you put a bike cover on it you are less apt to get a ticket, because a lot of places won't want the liability of hurting the bike. I don't fully believe it, but it might be worth a try.
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The only times I went to DC was in the late 70's when I was going to Walter Reed Army Medical Center, parking wasn't an issue for me.
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smart move. I call it District 9. If you have seen the movie, you will understand!
One of my all time favorite movies, can't wait for District 10!!!!!
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I rode to DC on my Wing ~ 5 years ago to visit my SIL, after visiting my Dad in Houston. What a mess... spent a week there. I just parked the bike after trying to visit a few historical places and decided my life was worth more than riding to them. 8)
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Almost as nasty dirty as Paris. And the scam artists are not limited to our elected officials. The reflecting pool was always nasty. The only place I found clean everytime was the Wall.
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Almost as nasty dirty as Paris. And the scam artists are not limited to our elected officials. The reflecting pool was always nasty. The only place I found clean everytime was the Wall.
went to the wall on bike....and parked 2 up in a space....
we both got tickets.
don't go to drive in DC. it suckz.
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I love DC.
I park in a long term, and then either walk or use the Metro. I think Metro is the best mass transit I've ever seen -- a world better than the tube in London, the Red Cars in San Diego, whatever they call the train in Long Beach, the 'el' (?) in Chicago, etc. Reasonable, and fast. I don't know of anyplace else with so much incredible history in so compact a space. The Air & Space museum, the Lincoln Memorial, the reflecting pond, Arlington, the wall -- I defy anyone to walk through Arlington, watch the ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, or walk along the surface of the wall and not be struck with the strength and solemnity of the place.
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don't go to drive in DC. it suckz.
fixed..... ;D
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You admit you were clearly parked illegally, got a tickrt and brcause of that the city sucks?
There's lots of other reasons it sucks but that ain't one of em.
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DC still sucks. For the nations capitol and all that goes with it finding parking of any kind is tough and to have the ridiculous prices?? Go ahead and call it illegal parking if you want, what is wrong (it is DC) is the laws governing parking and the associated fees/fines.
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I rarely drive in DC. Metro has free parking on the weekends, and stops just about anywhere you might want to go. The few times I've driven in to see the museums, I go to the free parking by the Jefferson Memorial/ tidal pool. Was there today to take my dad and his girlfriend to see the cherry blossoms.
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To clarify, one of the reasons DC sucks is because it is not motorcycle friendly. Back in 2007 the city changed the parking rules for motorcycles. One quarter used to buy 1 hour of parking time, so parking for the day was affordable. Now it costs about 16 dollars a day to park a bike on the street. That is just as expense as parking a car. This is not encouraging smart commuting. On top of that almost all parking garages don't allow motorcycles. Or if they do, you pay the same rate as a car ($265 per month). If you have ever visited some of these garages they have all sorts of nooks and areas where bikes can park out of the way an not even take up any car spaces.
Another reason it sucks is because Georgetown has no metro. The closest metro is Foggy Bottom - a 10 - 12 minute walk.
When I received my ticket, I parked my bike in a space a car could not fit (in between 2 other bikes that sit in the same spot all day). Actually I have never seen the two bikes move.
Thanks for reading.
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Yeah, Georgetown is different. Traffic is outrageous, especially on weekends. Spent a weekend one afternoon looking for a place to park.
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I don't really hate DC, it has it's place. I do side with Tesla, and see the advantages of AC, especially for long range power transmission. I do think we gave up a lot of efficiency by limiting our selves to 60 HZ. 400 HZ has less inherent losses, is not as dangerous to the nervous system in case of accidental contact and is easier and therefore cheaper to filter into smooth DC supply power. 400 hz transformers can be designed with smaller iron cores, making user devices lighter. DC does have advantages for battery power low current draw digital circuits.
Opps, sorry, I misunderstood the question. :P
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You admit you were clearly parked illegally, got a tickrt and brcause of that the city sucks?
There's lots of other reasons it sucks but that ain't one of em.
I Didn't admit parking illegally...and if it's illegle to park 2 bikes in one space, in a private parking lot, then it should be posted as such....
in these trying times, anyone that does something to be efficient, and offer those others an amenable answer to concientious use of parking spaces (non paying parking spaces at that...) should not be treated in such a manner.... The bitch part of it was there were 5 cars parked in the lot, and all of them were parked stradlling the lines...my pal and i pulled into an end spot and paired up within the lines... :banghead: :nuts:
can I escort you back to the troll-hole?(arena) ::) :hitfan:
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Down boy, down! ;)
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MOB, you were so fast to call me a troll you played the victim.
I never said you did anything.
The OP said he admitted to illegally parking.
Time for you to go to, as you call it, the troll hole?
Why did I know you would reply to my post negatively even though it had nothingto do with you?
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Boston has put in some motorcycle/scooter meters. At $0.25 per hour I use them when I am in the area. I can put in $2.25 at 7:00 am and be covered for 9 hours. It is a great concept for me and I hope it grows to other areas.
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Few years back when our office was located at 15th and L, I used to park in the bike spots at McPherson Square. No meters, but a sign that said 4-hour parking :o
Parked there from 7-4 for three years with not issues, then one day everyone got a ticket...few months later another ticket. I was able to move into the garage in my building for a monthly fee, but I noticed others still parked in the spots all day. They eventually added a meter for the spots. Whats the point of bike spots if they can't be used all day! DC sucks and is not bike friendly, even though a large number of Gov't workers commute on bikes and can park in Gov't garages for free!
BTW...I never paid the tickets, and never got any notices.....DC is a bureaucratic mess!
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Here in Cleveland, if you ride a cruiser type bike, you can park anywhere you want, sidewalk, in front of the door, or a fire hydrant, handicap spaces, 2,3,4,6 to a spot, diagonally across lines of the spaces taking up two spots with one bike, blocking other vehicles, blocking sidwalks, in the vestibule. These are things I've actually witnessed, no citations. COOL! But wait, theres more. I can't do it. Refer to above description of bike, not make, bike. Anyhow back to DC, I went in winter, easier to find a parking space I guess.
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The OP went in to DC, parked illegally, got a parking ticket, and now the city sucks.
Apparently he works in DC, knows the rules, has been doing this for a while, and just got caught. The city and parking sucked before this, but not for your reason. Maybe you just haven’t learned how to deal with it yet. Parking on the street is regulated by the DC government. They only have enough street parking for maybe 10% of the employee population to park within the downtown area, so there are also may garages and lots. It doesn’t improve too much as you get away from downtown, but it becomes unmetered. If it has a meter, it is regulated by the city (although a subcontractor may collect the fee), if you park illegally they will ticket you or the contractor will call for city enforcement to come to give you a ticket (because they aren’t getting your money, and they’re pissed). When you park in a garage (except for a very few) you are on private property and should not get a ticket, but can be towed away for not following the rules (construed as trespassing). If they don’t provide motorcycle specific spaces, then you will take up a full space and be charged the same rate (if you owned the garage, you’d do the same unless you had motorcycle spaces).
Is DC motorcycle friendly – no way. Could they improve, and maybe make more money by letting bikes park together to save space – sure. The latest thing for DC public parking is paying by the parking app on your phone. Imagine if they put motorcycle “squares” here and there, where 5 bikes could park in the same space as a one car. Until then, you should park legally, or you will run the risk of being either ticked or towed.
Do I go into DC – sure, but I don’t need a space for all day most of the time. I usually prefer the bike first, because you can always find a space within a few blocks that is free or metered. If I go all day, I’ll do my second preferred method which is to park at a metro lot (either with car or bike) and take the metro in. Some station parking is free, sometimes you can find parking on the street outside the station for free (if you don’t mind the walk).
DC sucks for many reasons, parking is just a very minor one. Should we start with their officials?
In case you’re wondering, I work for local government. I work in the Planning Office of Prince William County VA, and always try to push and encourage motorcycle related items no matter what type of project it is.
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Uh-oh...he just said the same thing I said....look out! ;D
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I saw that. What did I say?
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I'm sorry. No one is supposed to agree with Cholla on anything without prior written approval in triplicate, 1 year in advance.
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I see what you mean. It would seem I inadvertantly agreed with his statement pretty exact didn't I. Maybe mine's different because I elaborated so maybe it's just a strong similarity? Nevermind.
I will say for the Int'l motorcycle show (in DC) I parked right out front on the sidewalk of the convention center 100' from the door. No ticket, no nothin' when I came back out. Of course there was about 100 other bikes on the sidewalk. There were no signs saying to park there, everyone just did. Parking enforcement missed out on those two days, unless they were told not to enforce it. I don't like doing that though, too much of a risk from a gung-ho officer. That was maybe $10,000 in fines just sitting there waiting. Gee, I sound like my dad. Thanks.
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Oh, I don't know about that, I've agreed with him on a few occasions with no prior dispensation and I never got in trouble. ;D
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I'll let ya agree this time but next time.....
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:rotflmao: