I’ve designated myself the parking police.
I park on the street and it has suddenly become hard to get a parking spot. So, I have become a parking detective – and snitch.During the school year, I became anxious if traffic was bad, worried these new (and unknown) interlopers would hog a space.
City laws say that you have to move your car every 24 hours, so I began noting which cars didn’t move. I looked a little further into parking regs and learned that the city has a parking hotline. Suddenly, I had a tool to handle my concerns.
I confess, I have only called on two cars. There are criteria that have to be met.
A vehicle that remains in violation for more than 24 hours and one or more of the following conditions exist:
A. The vehicle does not have an unexpired registration plate, fails to display current registration, or does not have them lawfully affixed to the vehicle.
As an example a vehicle with a temporary registration or a TRIP permit counts as having current registration while the temporary registration or TRIP permit is valid and visible.
B. The vehicle appears to be inoperative or disabled.
As an example a vehicle with a flat tire is inoperative, but a vehicle that might have an impairment that is not visible is not an Abandoned Vehicle.
C. The vehicle appears to be wrecked, partially dismantled or junked.
As an example a vehicle with a missing windshield would be considered partially dismantled. A vehicle with a missing or damaged door window would not be considered wrecked, partially dismantled, or junked as it could still be legally operated on public highways.
In both cases where I called, bright green tow warnings appeared. In the first case, the vehicle was moved. In the second case, it was towed on July 1st, almost a month after I called. Apparently Portland also has a problem with abandoned vehicles and has a backlog.
There are a couple of other vehicles I am watching. Two have been moved twice since the tow happened. One has been sitting for over a month. It’s plates are good through August. I am also vigilant about my own car and, make sure that if I don’t go anywhere, I move my car so no one thinks I’ve abandoned it.
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