Ann Arbor parking rules need to be clear to the public

I've attached a photograph of what appears to be a valid parking place, downtown on the corner of Ann street and Ingalls. Note that there is no indication that parking is not allowed in the space where the car is parked. On the morning of Oct. 23 I arrived downtown at about 7 a.m. Seeing that this space was empty, I parked my car and left it for the morning. When I came back to my car at about noon I had a parking ticket on the windshield with the ticket saying that it was a no parking area. The violation was that I was closer than 20 feet from the crosswalk.

Although there are many signs in the area indicating where parking is not allowed, I looked again, and there was still no signage or any other indication that the space I was parked in was off limits for parking. Now I've had parking tickets before when I may have parked too close to a driveway or slightly over the line where there is a no parking sign. If I'm in the wrong and can see it I pay the ticket and realize that I don't have any grounds for complaint. This situation, though, really looks as if the parking control department is taking advantage of people for their own gain. I did go to the parking referee that afternoon to make this complaint. His position seemed to be, to paraphrase it, " ignorance of the law is no excuse." I understand now that it is a city ordinance that cars will not be allowed to park closer than 20 feet from a crosswalk. I'm still not sure how anyone is supposed to know this though.

I searched the Ann Arbor city Web site and couldn't find any mention of parking regulations, including this one. If any of you know where that information is to be found, please don't hesitate to send me back a link to it.

In point of fact, I do know of at least one other corner where parking is allowed closer than 20 feet from the crosswalk. Don't ask me where it is, though, enforcing this would only remove one more parking space from an area where more parking spaces are needed, not less.

I do feel strongly, though, that it is the responsibility of the parking department and the city to maintain signs enforcing this, and if the signs are taken down, some allowance should be made at least until the signs are replaced.

I don't know for sure if it was a city employee who removed any signs that may have been on that corner. Whether it was or not, though, the parking enforcement officer who patrols the area daily had plenty of time to report that there was no sign and to have any signs that should have been there installed. The fact that he apparently has not done this and is still issuing tickets comes close, to me, to being entrapment for the purpose of increasing his ticket quota. At this point I know I might as well pay the ticket. I don't really feel that I have any choice about that. I don't believe that sending this letter will make any difference in whether I have to pay or not. What should happen, though, is that a sign should be put up to indicate any places where parking is not allowed, and the parking enforcement people should not be ticketing cars in an area that is not marked for no parking.

Robert Grabbe Ann Arbor