Anyone with a car has to park it. But where? The meter is usually cheaper than a parking lot, especially if you're just going to pop in someplace for a short time.
But from the moment you slide that first coin into the slot, you're on the clock. And in the heavily enforced parking areas near Downtown and the University of Arizona, thousands of citations are issued each year.
The most common parking ticket issued by ParkWise, the city's parking-enforcement arm, is for an expired meter.
More than 9,300 citations were issued last year just for expired meters. At $28 each, that's a lot of money that could have been saved by treating that meter to a few more quarters before walking away.
It also speaks to heeding the time limit posted on a meter.
The second most common citation was issued 5,626 times for parking without a permit in an area in which one is required, which includes a lot of neighborhoods near the University of Arizona. That citation is an even pricier $52.
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Some may be surprised that the third thing parking agents write the most of is warnings.
More than 3,400 warnings were issued instead of citations last year.
The recipients should consider themselves lucky, and remember their parking faux pas next time they park.
Wrapping up the top five are failure to show proof of registration (meaning the sticker on the license plate) and parking in the wrong direction on the street.
The big hammer — parking in a handicapped zone without showing a disabled license plate or window placard — came home to roost 426 times last year and carries the city's heftiest fine at $532, with good reason.
Even at that price, and with signs warning drivers of the financial consequences, it showed up as No. 11 on the most-common-citations list.
On a reporter's salary, parking a few spaces closer just isn't worth $500 to me.
And considering whom those spaces are there for, I wouldn't park in them even if I had an extra $500 to throw around.
I'm surprised so many people take that risk.
In general, parking fines can be $28, $52, $103 or $155. Parking in a disabled spot, a disabled- access aisle or a para-transit loading area are the only violations hauling in a fine of several hundred dollars.
Just remember these price tags next time you're parking at metered spots or any regulated area Downtown or near the university.
Two-wheeled Tucson
Check out the Gridlocked traffic blog this week to find out how reporter Josh Brodesky is faring on the streets of Tucson without a car.
He will lose his car keys for a week, beginning today, and will switch to two wheels. He'll record his bicycling experiences on the blog, so you can share the view from behind the handlebars.
As part of a story, Brodesky and I are each going carless for a week. I rode the bus last week, and my impressions are also logged on the blog. You can find it at go.azstarnet.com/ gridlocked.
Road Q
Question: "The traffic on the East Side has increased considerably since we moved here two years ago, and the stoplight at Harrison and Speedway does not have a turning signal either way, making it impossible to turn west onto Speedway during morning rush hour. Will this issue be addressed soon?" Sally Donison wrote.
Answer: The intersection is scheduled to be improved when Speedway is widened from Camino Seco to Houghton, said Michael Graham, spokesman for the Tucson Department of Transportation. The widening is scheduled to begin in 2010, and the intersection is scheduled to get turn signals, turn lanes and bus pullouts as part of the project, he said. The project is part of the voter-approved Regional Transportation Plan funded in part by a half-cent sales tax.
