Which is it? 10 or 30

On the Woodstock Police Department's FAQ webpage is information about paying a parking ticket. For example, if you forget Woodstock's overnight parking ban and commit the grievous sin of parking overnight on a Woodstock street (and be unlucky enough to get a ticket), then you might inspect the City's official website to learn what to do about it.

Or if you visit Woodstock's beautiful historic Square, spend a lot of money on lunch at a Square restaurant, spend some more money shopping, and spend some more money at the Opera House - and then get a ticket for over-parking the two-hour limit! - what happens if you miss the 10-day window for paying for the privilege of parking on the street?

In the FAQs is:

"How do I pay for my parking ticket?

"You can pay a parking ticket in person at the police department 24 hours a day seven days a week, or by mail to the Woodstock Police Department at 656 Lake Avenue Woodstock, Illinois 60098. Parking tickets must be paid within 30 days of the issued date to avoid the fine increasing. Any parking ticket that is not paid after 10 days is processed through the McHenry County Circuit Clerk’s Office and will be assessed additional court costs. "

OK, so which is it?

Sentence Two tells you that you must pay your ticket within 30 days to avoid an increased fine.

Sentence Three tells you that, if you don't pay in 10 days, then your ticket is sent to the McHenry County Court system.

What is the City's rush to get the $5 or $10? What if you mail in your fine and your payment gets lost?

Sending a $5-10 parking ticket to court after 10 days is a total waste of everyone's time and definitely of the Court's resources! No wonder that court costs are out-of-sight!

After 10 days the City could send a postcard reminder ($0.27), urging the violator to cough up his fine "or else." Then, after 30 days, the City could make a decision whether to utilize the expensive services of the City Attorney (at what hourly rate? $200? $300?) and pursue this "criminal".

It would be interesting to know just how many parking tickets go unpaid in a year. A lot? A few? Any?

© 2008 GUS PHILPOTT

Police to Ticket

Should the Woodstock Police ticket parking violators on sight, or is it necessary for citizens to telephone the Police Department and request that a ticket be issued?

At noon today this black Chevrolet pick-up truck (license NOSBIG) was parked on Throop Street, completing blocking the sidewalk south of Cass Street. Cass Street is the short street where the Chamber of Commerce and Woodstock Hobbies are located.

Granted that most of the pedestrian traffic is on the Square and not around the outside behind the businesses, but this location is a popular spot for parking violations.

Wouldn't you think that the beat officer would stop on his first trip past, assuming he is not enroute to a call, and tell the owner/driver of the pick-up to move it or be ticketed? One warning should be sufficient, and the word ought to get around to the other construction workers in that building.

© 2008 GUS PHILPOTT

Loading Zones in Woodstock

When a curb parking area is designated as a Loading Zone, did you know that parking is permitted only for 15 minutes and only while loading or unloading? Woodstock City Code Section 5.3.11 is the reference here.

This is a little-known and lesser-obeyed section of Woodstock's City Code.

Example: the designated Loading Zone at the end of Benton Street, just before the railroad tracks at Church Street, provided convenient parking for two cars on late Friday afternoon. (To view the cars more clearly and see their license plate numbers, left-click on the photo.)

This restricted-parking zone is striped as a no-parking zone but signed as a Loading Zone. It is used for deliveries, sometimes by trucks really too long to be parked in it, but that's another story. On Friday the vehicles in it were a black Acura sedan and red Infiniti Impala - probably not pizza delivery vehicles for Pirro's. And, even if they were, they can be there only while loading and unloading and then only up to 15 minutes.

When is a Loading Zone not a "legal" Loading Zone? When it is in front of the Jewel-Osco in Woodstock.

The property manager has striped the pavement and placed signs there to indicate that parking is for customer package pick-up. It was business-like and professional of the shopping center to do that. Certainly, its intention was that customers would not park there to run in and shop and that drivers would not "stand" (stop their vehicles but remain at the wheel) there while passengers went in to shop.

But that's exactly what happens, because the City of Woodstock has not entered into a Vehicular Control Agreement with the property owners/managers. All the property managers want such an Agreement. All it would take is a small amount of attention by the City to complete an Agreement. When it's in place, then the Woodstock Police Department can enforce traffic laws on the northeast corner of Route 47 and Country Club Road, commonly thought-of as the Jewel-Osco corner.

Technically, there are three property owners there: 1) Jewel-Osco; 2) the strip of stores west of Jewel-Osco; and the Golden Eagle Community Bank property.

If you are a customer of any of the businesses on that corner, stop and visit with the store's manager on your next trip. Tell the manager of the store that you are sick and tired of endangering your life just to cross the driveway from the parking lot to the store, because so many drivers run the stop signs. If enough customers tell enough managers enough times, they will band together and "persuade" the City to complete a Vehicular Control Agreement.

It's not that complicated. The Village of Algonquin uses a one-page agreement. Woodstock currently requires a four-page agreement! I guess higher legal fees result, when a four-page agreement is required.

© 2008 GUS PHILPOTT

Should Police Ticket?

There is a problem all over Woodstock that some feel needs attention. The problem? Drivers who park cars and trucks across sidewalks and leave them there.

This truck with an Illinois temporary license was blocking the sidewalk on Sunday morning on Tryon Street across from St. Mary's Catholic Church. Could it be that it was there just a few minutes - or maybe it was there all night?

Woodstock residents have gotten away for years with parking across sidewalks and not receiving tickets. This could be why the problem is so widespread.

My suggestion to the Police Department is a 30-day warming-up period with plenty of publicity and some one-page warning notices placed under windshield wipers of illegally parked vehicles blocking sidewalks. Not even a formal Warning - just a polite warning and information about Woodstock's prohibition of blocking sidewalks. Because of the lack of enforcement it's fair to provide some warning in town that the police will start enforcing the law. Pick a date. Any date. Say, July 1st.

Then enforce the law. All the officer has to do after the warming-up period is pause, write the ticket, hang in on the car and move on.

But adequate publicity is needed. Newspaper, radio, posters at the local markets and big box stores, plus warnings, will get the word out. After that? Neighbors will likely help out neighbors with information and reminders, and the problem will disappear.

Think there is any chance that this might happen?

© 2008 GUS PHILPOTT

Disregard for Fire Lane

An interesting situation exists at the Woodstock Recreation Center on Lake Avenue at Kimball Street. On a recent Friday afternoon I noticed that a fire truck and two ambulances were parked in the Fire Lane. Knowing the Woodstock Fire/Rescue District is not part of the City of Woodstock, I emailed Fire Chief Ralph Webster to alert him and to request that he ask the drivers to park the vehicles in regular parking spots or, at least, not in the Fire Lane unless they were on an emergency response at the Recreation Center.

There were, of course, several responses that I might have received, one being "Thanks for letting me know. I'll be sure that the drivers park legally there." And that's the one I received; right? NOT!

When I didn't hear back from Ralph, I emailed Police Chief Bob Lowen to ask him to enforce the Fire Lane parking law. I mentioned I hadn't heard from Ralph and he must have let Ralph know that I had contacted him, because Ralph took exception to my letting the Police Chief know that he hadn't replied. Ralph then wrote and said that he had replied, but his email to me had apparently not been delivered to me, and I should have known that. Guess I'd better practice up on my psychic skills...

Police Chief Lowen quoted a section of the traffic code in an email to me. "Authorized Emergency Vehicles can park there according to Section 625 ILCS 5/11-205c(1) of the Illinois Vehicle Code ."

Perhaps many people would let things drop there, but I had a strong suspicion that Authorized Emergency Vehicles are required to obey traffic laws, so I looked up 5/11-205c(1). It can be found online at www.illinois.gov, where you have to nose around quite a bit to find the Illinois Vehicle Code and then experiment to find the right section.

Sure enough, Authorized Emergency Vehicles can park "there" (in a designated Fire Lane), BUT subject to certain conditions, none of which happen to be met by the WFRD vehicles. When you read this Section of the Illinois Vehicle Code carefully - - well, read it for yourself... Make up your own mind. To save your time, I have excerpted portions of the Section without changing the meaning:

The driver of an authorized emergency vehicle, when responding to an emergency call or when in the pursuit of an actual or suspected violator of the law or when responding to but not upon returning from a fire alarm, may exercise the privileges set forth in this Section, but subject to the conditions herein stated.
(c) The driver of an authorized emergency vehicle may:
1. Park or stand, irrespective of the provisions of this Chapter;
2. Proceed past a red or stop signal or stop sign, but only after slowing down as may be required and necessary for safe operation;
3. Exceed the maximum speed limits so long as he does not endanger life or property;
4. Disregard regulations governing direction of movement or turning in specified directions.
(d) The exceptions herein granted to an authorized emergency vehicle, other than a police vehicle, shall apply only when the vehicle is making use of either an audible signal when in motion or visual signals meeting the requirements of Section 12‑215 of this Act.

So the questions are -
Q. Are the WFRD vehicles at the Recreation Center on an emergency call?
A. No, the firemen and paramedics are working out as part of the P.E. requirement of the WFRD.
Q. Are "visual signals" (emergency lights) in use?
A. No, and they cannot be legally used except during emergency response.
Q. Is it "training"? Are the firefighters learning how to lay hose faster, swing axes, put out fires?
A. No, there is a lot of hoop-de-lah in the news about firefighters keeling over from heart attacks while fighting fires, so Ralph lets them work out while on-duty.

But the last question is a side issue and has nothing to do with whether the fire trucks are illegally parked.

When my efforts to get the police department to enforce the parking law failed, I contacted City Manager Tim Clifton and asked him to get a legal opinion from the City Attorney. On April 2 Tim wrote, "The Chief’s interpretation is sufficient. Furthermore, the safety of the building and its inhabitants are not diminished but enhanced with the fire apparatus and personnel on site."

Interesting... it's okay to violate the law if safety is enhanced. So then I contacted Woodstock Mayor Brian Sager and asked him to obtain a legal opinion from the City Attorney. Mayor Sager expressed "absolute trust and confidence in the ability of the City's professional staff and said he would not support getting a legal opinion.

On April 13 at 3:10PM there were two fire engines and two ambulances in the Fire Lane, and I called Woodstock PD to ask for an officer to come to the Recreation Center and observe the violation. I did not want just any officer, because a regular patrol officer would end up in a really sticky spot if he read the traffic law and realized a violation existed, so I asked to speak with the shift sergeant. The shift sergeant refused to come to the Recreation Center to document that the WFRD equipment was illegally parked in the Fire Lane.

I'm having a really hard time trying to figure out just what the problem is. Is the problem that Fire Chief Ralph Webster is also City Councilman Ralph Webster? Is the problem that Police Chief Lowen and Fire Chief Webster are not really peers, but Ralph is, in effect, one of the Chief's bosses by virtue of his position on the City Council? I have known Chief Lowen for a year through the Coffees with the Chief and other matters, and I believe him to be a man of integrity and honesty. But let's face it. Is he willing to fall on his sword over a battle with Ralph? Or is the problem that the score right now between the City Attorney's office and me is Gus 2, City Attorney's office 0?

There is a very simple solution. A correct legal opinion from the City Attorney's office will keep Chief Lowen and the officers of the Woodstock Police Department out of the middle. The law is crystal clear. WFRD fire trucks and ambulances are parking illegally in the Fire Lane.

Why do I use the word "correct" legal opinion? This will be addressed in other postings.

The proper course of action for the Fire Chief is to tell his drivers to park legally, especially because of his position as a City Councilman. Every appearance of favoritism should be avoided. Shouldn't it?

What do you think?