Complaint Review: Reading Parking Authority

Warning! The Reading Parking Authority is now sending via mail $90 fines to anyone that is in the way of the Street Sweeper.

On the City of Reading website you will see listed a $35 fine for if you do not remove your car from the path of the Street Sweeper. However, if you do immediately move your car and do not wait for the driver of the Street Sweeper to hand you a ticket, you will be mailed a $90 fine for "fleeing the scene.

I live along two streets; one is a tight one-lane street in which our recycle truck drivers have badly dented my car. The other street is a nice wide two-lane street mostly free of the denters. One night after work I spotted a handy parking space along the two-land street, tired from work, I did not remember the Friday street sweep sign. The next day (Friday), I was getting ready for work and then I heard the Street Sweeper coming up the street and remembered that it was the Friday sweep. I ran as fast as I can to move my car out of their way and when I got to my car, it appeared as though the driver of the Street Sweeper was taking a picture of my license plate. My neighbor said "you better hurry up so you don't get a $35 fine". So thinking that I was doing a good thing by getting out of the way of the Sweeper so as to keep the city clean, I moved my car to the other street.

Then I thought well if they send me a $35 fine, I will just have to pay it. Nothing came in the mail. No notice until three weeks later. Received in my postal mail was a "WARNING" letter stating that I have an outstanding parking violation and to pay $90 with 10 days!

When I called the Reading Parking Authority for an explanation this is what Nancy Moyer told me: "the Sweeper violation is $35 but you ran off with your car so now the fine is $90. Then she asked me if I wanted to fight the fine in court. I replied "yes. So she supposedly scheduled me for a hearing. Now I just finally found a job (PT) after over a year of trying to find employment and I cannot afford a bogus $90 fine. Then Nancy forwarded my call to her supervisor, John Hainey. He told me the same exact thing that Nancy told me. Because I moved my car (or as they put it, ran off) and did not wait for the ticket to be handed to me, it is a courtesy for him to even send me the $90 warning letter. Courtesy? Why wasn't the original $35 fine mailed to me? John said this is the parking law. When I asked him who made this law he told me Reading City Council. I am still trying to get in touch with them to acquire more of an explanation.

Next I went to "The City of Reading" website and sent a complaint to the Mayor, I still have not heard anything. I am still trying to get in touch with someone on the city council to acquire more of an explanation. The Reading Parking Authority will not mail you the Street Sweep fine of $35, but will send you an overdue fine of $90. Seems to me, that this is just another dishonest way for someone in our Reading government to scam honest hard-working people like me.

My name has been changed to protect my innocence. Wolfie