City Hall
City Could Amend Parking "Scofflaw" Program
The city council's public safety committee will consider changes tomorrow to the city's new parking "scofflaw" program, which will allow city parking officers to place an immobilizing "boot" on cars owned by people with more than four outstanding parking tickets. To remove the boot, the owner of a car will have to pay a fine in person or over the phone; after taking the boot off the car, they'll have two days to return the boot to one of a few locations around the city.
Opponents of the boot program objected that many homeless people in the city live in their cars; that some people may be physically unable to remove and lift the boot; that there weren't enough sites around the city to return boots to (and that those sites would be open only during daytime hours, when many people are working); and that people with limited English skills or without credit cards would face barriers to paying their tickets over the phone.
The public safety could amend the legislation to fix at least a couple of those problems, by expanding the number of sites where boots can be returned; making sure that at least one site is open 24/7; and by creating an outreach and remediation program for people who live in their cars.
Currently, the program would create just three sites for people to drop off the boots: One in the University District, one somewhere in Southeast Seattle, and one in Georgetown. Of those, none would be open earlier than 9:00 am or later than 7:00 pm on weekdays, and only two would be open on Saturdays, from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm.
The group appointed by the council recommended adding one site in a different geographic part of the city that would be open 24 hours, so that people who work unconventional hours or don't live near one of the three selected sites could get there easily to drop the boot off.
As for homeless car campers, the group suggested a three-pronged approach: First, educate campers that the boot program is coming. Then, warn them again (in person, through community meetings, with posters, and online) that the program is about to be implemented. Finally, figure out ways to help the people who will inevitably end up violating the scofflaw regulations (because people living in their cars often don't have cars that, you know, work.)
Among those: Allowing people who violate the program to pay their tickets through community service; encouraging people to move onto private property instead of public right-of-way; give parking officers the ability to "exercise discretion" when deciding whether to issue tickets; and identifying funds "to assist car campers with citation payments for at-risk car campers."
Opponents of the boot program objected that many homeless people in the city live in their cars; that some people may be physically unable to remove and lift the boot; that there weren't enough sites around the city to return boots to (and that those sites would be open only during daytime hours, when many people are working); and that people with limited English skills or without credit cards would face barriers to paying their tickets over the phone.
The public safety could amend the legislation to fix at least a couple of those problems, by expanding the number of sites where boots can be returned; making sure that at least one site is open 24/7; and by creating an outreach and remediation program for people who live in their cars.
Currently, the program would create just three sites for people to drop off the boots: One in the University District, one somewhere in Southeast Seattle, and one in Georgetown. Of those, none would be open earlier than 9:00 am or later than 7:00 pm on weekdays, and only two would be open on Saturdays, from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm.
The group appointed by the council recommended adding one site in a different geographic part of the city that would be open 24 hours, so that people who work unconventional hours or don't live near one of the three selected sites could get there easily to drop the boot off.
As for homeless car campers, the group suggested a three-pronged approach: First, educate campers that the boot program is coming. Then, warn them again (in person, through community meetings, with posters, and online) that the program is about to be implemented. Finally, figure out ways to help the people who will inevitably end up violating the scofflaw regulations (because people living in their cars often don't have cars that, you know, work.)
Among those: Allowing people who violate the program to pay their tickets through community service; encouraging people to move onto private property instead of public right-of-way; give parking officers the ability to "exercise discretion" when deciding whether to issue tickets; and identifying funds "to assist car campers with citation payments for at-risk car campers."
