Parking in the city can be a tricky thing with the number of rules and regulations in place. On top of that, no one wants to get a parking ticket, so it’s important to know the rules of the road and the lot. We’ve outlined some tricks and tips for parking in the city and how to avoid those parking tickets.
Signs To Look For To Avoid Parking Tickets:
- Anti-Gridlock Zone Signs: Anti-gridlock zones don’t allow you to park on the side of certain roads during peak hour.
- Stopping or Standing Zone Sign: A No Stopping or No Standing zone means that you can’t park there, but you can pull up to the curb to drop off or pick up someone. Even if you’re sitting in your car, you can still get a ticket for being parked in a No Standing zone.
Tricks To Avoid Parking Tickets:
- In many cities, if a parking meter is out of order, you’re allowed to park there for free for a given time frame, typically 1-2 hours. To avoid a parking ticket, be sure to be aware of the time limit for your city. (Note: if the meter is accepting various forms of payment but you can’t use your preferred method of payment, you’re expected to use a different form of payment.)
- In most cities, every driver is entitled to one courtesy cancellation. But cancellations are logged against your license number so you can’t try it again in the same car.
Things To Know About Parking Inspectors:
- Avoid parking illegally in front of or near law courts as parking officers who are visiting to testify in traffic court will check surrounding cars on their way in and out.You may be less likely to get a ticket in the city 12 p.m. – 1 p.m. when most inspectors will be having lunch. However, parking inspector shifts usually overlap in the afternoon when there’s more chance your illegal park will be spotted.
- Parking inspectors don’t tend to start work in the city on a Sunday until 11.30 am which is much later than the rest of the week.
- In most cities, the last parking inspector will finish at 10.30 p.m. and the next one won’t start work until 6 a.m. the following day so it’s unlikely you’ll get a ticket parking illegally at night. But be sure to follow signage for overnight parking rules, especially in cities that have permitted parking overnight.
- Parking inspectors don’t usually work on Christmas Day or New Year’s Day.
Park Smarter
If you don’t want to deal with the stress of getting a parking ticket, you can reserve a spot with SpotHero. SpotHero is a parking reservation app that lets you reserve spots in advance in lots and garages. You can reserve spots in many major cities that you find yourself driving in when you need a spot.
Want more information on how SpotHero works? Look no further than right here. Download the SpotHero app on iOS or Android for easy booking.