Contesting a parking ticket in Salem no longer means having to sacrifice a morning ritual and possibly missing a full day of work. In the dark ages of August 24, 2010, those wanting to appeal a parking citation had to check in between 7:00 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. and possibly wait for hours to see the judge. As of August 26th, people can show up to the Salem Municipal Court located at 555 Liberty St. SE, Room 215 between 7 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, and enter a plea at the counter (within 14 days of receiving the ticket). If they enter a not guilty plea, a trial before a judge is set up.
If they enter guilty or no contest pleas, the fine may be reduced, depending on the person’s record, according to Cheryl Stone, municipal court administrator. Unpaid fines escalate by $10 and outstanding charges of $60 or more could result in a booted car.
Stone said that the appeals process was changed after they received a number of citizen complaints about lengthy court visits.
“We wanted to make it easier for people who got parking citations to be able to plead not guilty at the counter,” she said.
Before 2006, downtown parking had unlimited timing. Currently, customers can park for two hours, but downtown employees are not allowed to park anywhere for free. Workers can buy spots from the city, and many employers reserve spots for their staff. At the moment, all parkades have a waiting list except for some uncovered spots at the Marion Parkade. Monthly prices vary and there is a processing fee per permit.
There are no discounts in place for downtown employees either, even though businesses finance the parking district with a parking assessment tax. If caught parking without a permit, employees could get fines of $100, $175 and $250, increasing each time the offense is repeated.
Some employees have stopped driving to work altogether.
“I take the bus in the morning and get picked up in the evening. The bus costs but it’s more economical to take the bus one way than to pay for parking,” said Don Andrews, manager at Amish Workbench furniture. “I got ticketed once because I didn’t move my car quick enough. I forgot, to tell you the truth, that I drove my car that day. That was the last time I drove to work.”
Another downtown employee, Kailey Clodt, said even though her boss pays for employee parking, she prefers not to drive because the spot is a walk away from the store, and she would feel unsafe. “It’s creepy, especially for women. I’ve been whistled at, one time I was followed … With my bad luck, I prefer not to drive. Now I have my friends, my boyfriend or my parents drive me.”
Employers are required to register their staff’s license plates every six months, but parking officers don’t have the information with them at all times. There is no way they could automatically know which car belongs to a customer and which to an employee, unless they verify on the list, which they don’t have on hand. Sometimes, they check to see if the alleged employee is working at the moment.
“All on-street spaces are regulated with time restrictions in order to encourage parking turnover for the downtown merchants,” said Nicole Wahlberg, public information manager, City of Salem Urban Development Department.
Rene Tyson, a visitor downtown, agrees that parking spots are best to be protected form employees: “The problem with the free all day parking was that the people who work downtown would take the parking.” However, she wishes the time for customers was unlimited. “If I went shopping with my family, two hours wouldn’t be enough time. It takes twenty minutes to unload,” said Tyson, who has five small children. “When they changed it they had these big signs that said ‘Now you can park for two hours for free!’ and at first my friends and I were like, ‘Yes!’ But then we were like, ‘wait a minute, it used to be free all day!” She added, “I think it should be up to the stores, not the city.”
The city conducts an annual parking survey, due to come out in September, which will contain details regarding how many times each spot is used. According to Sheri Wahrgren,downtown revitalization manager for the City of Salem, a good turnover is good for business as it reflects an increased number of customers.
Some businesses as well as customers have expressed that the two hour limit does not provide enough time to shop.
Ann Johnson, an employee at Napoleon’s Creperie and Gelato, said, “I don’t like it. Not a week goes by when someone doesn’t leave to avoid a ticket.”
While she wouldn’t want the city to go return to the all-day parking, she wishes the timing was extended to three hours.
“All day parking was not a good idea because a lot of employees took advantage of it. Three hours would be enough to get your hair done, eat and shop.”
“I agree,” said Linda Aiello-Shaw, an employee at Napoleon’s.
In fact, each of the downtown parkades, which were built in conjunction with the developments of Nordstrom and Mervyn’s (now Kohl’s), offer all day free parking for customers. However, many still choose to park closer to their destination, on the street, and risk getting a fine.
“We’re having a hard time getting people to walk that extra block. People don’t like to walk, and we really have a good downtown to walk around. When I park in the parkade I enjoy the walk,” said Wahrgren.
“What makes parking in Salem unique is, unlike many cities of similar
size, downtown Salem offers a free parking system,” added Wahlberg.
In 2009, there were 35,881 citations, and this year, there were 17,578 up to mid-July. The numbers for two-hour violations are 12,596 for 2009 and 6,671 by mid-July 2010, according to Sara Bratcher, parking policy and downtown project manager, Urban Development Department.
And people usually don’t enjoy getting tickets. Pao Xiong, a parking officer for the City, said getting yelled at is “part of the job.”
Some people’s frustration is caused by the fine print written on the street signs. The most visible part says “2 hours,” but it also says “once per day” in smaller letters. So, if someone stops by for coffee at 10 a.m. and comes back for lunch at 11:30, parking anywhere on the same block, they’d be targeted, even if two hours haven’t gone by since the first stop.
“If they leave and come back, they’re likely to get a ticket because they’re already on the system,” said Pao Xiong, who, along with seven other officers, circles downtown all day, diligently entering each plate into a hand-held ticket writer, where it remains all day.
“Every block is different. Every block has four sides. It only applies to one side of the street,” he said.
Most savvy downtowners know this, and avoid fines by moving their cars over to the next block before the two hours are up.
But many are not aware of this perfectly legal loophole, and face consequences.
“I knew the rule. I know it was my fault,” said Cherie Ulmer when she found a ticket waiting on her dashboard. “I’m not happy, but actually I feel kinda lucky. I have been volunteering at the Pentacle office and I haven’t had a ticket until today and I’ve been staying longer. After a couple of times it’s bound to happen.”
Although some anonymous employees admitted to playing the two hour jumping game, this is not an easy option. “I couldn’t leave the store to go move my car,” said Clodt.
Carter Sheel, a visitor downtown, had just moved his car to avoid a ticket. “I liked it more when it was all day. It’d be nice not to worry about it, although I’ve parked three hours and not gotten a ticket.” His awareness of time has paid off: Sheel has never gotten a ticket. On the other hand, his friend, Brad Guzman has received several. “It sucks! Oh well, of course I wish it was all day parking,” he said.
Joseph Latarte, another downtown visitor, had very strong feelings concerning the parking situation: “Salem, Oregon, a small town where the only problem is that parking. It’s congested. There’s too much shopping and
not enough spots,” he said. In total, the city owns 3,626 permit and free parking spaces downtown.
Tim Houser, a parking officer in training, said the purpose of giving out tickets is to educate people rather than to fine them.
“Once people understand, they’re O.K.,” he said. “A lot of times we get to talk to people rather than giving them a ticket. As long as they comply and move their vehicle. we don’t ticket them. It’s about education. If we can save them some money and educate them along the way, we’re happy and they’re happy.”
Would the city consider changing its parking policies? Wahrgren says yes.
“If they feel like they need three hours, they should certainly come and ask,” she said. Although she is open to proposals, she said she has never received one. She can be contacted at 503.588.6178 x 7595.
For current parking rates and availability, contact 503.588.6133
