I got a parking ticket. I got a parking ticket and it violates all that is fair, Just and decent. Since I am technically wrong and I’m powerless to do anything, here’s my catharsis.
Claire and I are getting married soon – it’s very exciting – and my best men and I need to look the part. To find suits that’ll fit a gangly twig such as myself we head to the city, where money flows and swank suits can be had.
We carpool in from the suburbs and park on the Terrace.
As on every weekend, the Terrace is devoid of all life. There are parks along the length and we park down the bottom. I opt for park 2798, a P120 before the one with a dead pigeon in it.
We pay at the meter and wander off to spend thousands on Wellington retail and dining.
We start with lunch at a deserted cafe. Then we get to the suits.
Two hours isn’t enough. Suit’s half-tried, my best man uses the PayMyPark app to top up our park another two hours.
Three outfits bought with matching belts, shoes etc and back at the car, there’s a ticket. ‘Parked 3 hours in a 2 hour space’. They’ve got the photos to prove it.
I email back with the PayMyPark receipt, showing we were paid up through when we were ticketed.
The person at the council replies along the lines of ‘P120 means P120’.
So someone had to run back and roll the car forward onto the dead pigeon. Instead we kept buying clothes all over Lambton Quay. While I’m spending more in the city that I ever have or ever will again pumping a retail sector hurting from Queensgate, Porirua and COVID, some predatory weasels at the WCC parking office were skulking around in their fake SWAT uniforms, targeting the only car on the Terrace and giving me the most unreasonable infringement of my life.
What are the values of the Council? To serve the people of Wellington, or our businesses, or how about just not be unreasonable pricks? The Parking Services clearly have a culture of ‘get everything you can from the violators’ not a ‘let’s make sure Wellington retail can work by making sure people can park’.
I suppose if you work for the Parking Services, you probably do just see shit everyday. Their reflections peer back at them from their screens as they ping you for peanuts, causing so much more value damage than the ticket will provide.
Previously neutral on the council, this unfair wankery makes me view the WCC as a Water Closet Council, an open sewer much like they’ve let our city become. Do heaps of vain toss, forego maintaining everything our predecessors built up and just focus on pinging the ordinary folk for living here in every way you can.
The Council needs a massive culture and value change. They need to serve the people and interests of Wellington, not be the collective scumbag they are now.
I agree I sold my Wellington city center salon 4 years ago after 12 years in business , I employed over 10 people not decided the council were making it to hard for retailers and it wasint worth it.. I complained to the council many times about thing they were doing wrong that wear hurting retailers and chasing families and shoppers out of Wellington.
I have moved to kapiti now with my family , no regrets. Thank you Wellington city council for giving me the push.
Thanks George – glad Kapiti is working out well for you – our loss.
It is disappointing that the culture of the WCC is so mis-aligned to the goals of an organisation like that, and that they lack the leadership to fix it. Unfortunately this little experience has scarred my opinion longer-term – whenever I see anything from them a little part of the back of my mind says ‘prats!’