It must be good to be a police officer these days, compared to when cops — oh, i dunno — actually had to do police work? These days, cops can complete an entire day of work by parking in one spot and waiting for people to break the law around them! So much easier than actually having to seek out offenders. I’m really happy that cops have it so easy now, because I would hate to think they were exerting themselves too much for their job. I mean, they might hurt themselves and then who will protect the streets from people who exceed the posted speed limit for 2 seconds? Those safe drivers that are attempting to get away from slow, possibly more dangerous drivers — they’re a real menace.

Keep up the great work! Oh… and I’ll see you in court, you lazy speedtrap-setting cocksucker.

I got to my truck in the MTA parking lot this morning only to find a bright green envelope on my windshield. Much to my surprise, I had received a ticket! See my appeal letter below. Assholes.

Date Issued: 06/25/2008
Violation Reason: MTA LOT FOR MTA RIDERS ONLY
Amount of Penalty: $47.00

Reason For Appeal:

Simply put, I am a MTA Rider! I have been parking my truck in the Sierra Madre Villa Station parking structure for over 6 months. I work the Midnight shift in Downtown Los Angeles and I purchase a $62 monthly pass every single month. Not only that, but I always park my truck in the exact same spot every single night.

I am quite shocked at receiving this ticket, as I am certainly not the only MTA rider who parks overnight in this particular lot. I would understand if I had parked in the lot and then went somewhere other than directly to the train platform. However, that is not the case. I arrive at the lot at approximately 10:35pm every weeknight and board the 10:50pm train to Union Station. Then, I get back to the lot at approximately 9:00am the following morning. I have done this for months now and not received any tickets in that time. Additionally, this ticket was issued at 1:06am, which makes me wonder what criteria is used to make the judgment that a car parked in this lot does not belong to a MTA rider.

Is there a problem with overnight parking in this lot? If so, that should be made abundantly clear. If that is the case, I will certainly cease riding the train altogether, as this is really the only benefit for me. This will cause me to drive to Downtown LA every night, which will be significantly more expensive for me considering my employer pays for my train pass, but not my gas.

Can I get a placard of some kind from Union Station that will allow me to park in this lot overnight without fear of receiving another ticket? What if I should park a different car in the lot overnight, will I risk another ticket due to an officer blindly deciding that I am not a MTA rider?

I not only feel that this ticket is unwarranted, but that it also seems to expose a flaw in your citation system. An officer should only cite vehicles of those people who specifically park there for other reasons that riding the train.

On top of all this, I must point out that in recent months I have witnessed the evidence of at least 5 cars being broken-in-to in this lot, in the form of safety glass next to parking spots. Shouldn’t these officers be spending more time patrolling for vandals and thieves, rather than citing vehicles that are justifiably parked in this lot?

Thank you for your consideration,
MTA Rider