Patch Blog: A Christmas Parking Story

UPDATE: I just called Pasadena Parking Enforcement (which had not responded to my call a couple weeks ago) and learned that they will NOT enforce the meters on Dec. 25, Jan. 1, and Jan. 2. They WILL enforce on Dec. 26.

Original Post: This is a very unusual holiday season. This is a year that Christmas and New Year’s fall on Sundays. This is a year that those bold enough to venture into Pasadena and park in a metered space should proceed with caution.

Just like this year, the day after Christmas (Dec. 26) in 1994 fell on a Monday. And I knew that this particular Monday was a federal holiday. I went to Old Town Pasadena to do some shopping. I found a parking space and intentionally did not put money in the meter. As I walked from my car to the shops, I saw many people putting money in the meters. 

“You don’t have to do that,” I wanted to tell them, “today is a holiday and the signs say the meters are not enforced on holidays.” 

But I held my tongue, smugly thinking how clever I was. 

When I returned to my car about an hour later, I saw something that looked like an envelope on my windshield. Not a parking ticket! How could this be? It was a holiday. 

I immediately headed to Pasadena city hall where I parked, put money in the meter, and marched right up to the door that seemed like the place you’d go to deal with a parking ticket. The door was locked, as were all the other doors at city hall. 

As I walked down the City Hall steps heading back to my car, I saw a man on a bicycle standing next to a parked car, writing a parking ticket. He was wearing a bicycle helmet and an official-looking shirt.

I strode up to him and asked defiantly: “What are you doing?” 

“Giving a parking ticket,” he replied.

“You can’t do that today!”  

“Why not?” 

“It’s a holiday,” I said. 

“But we don’t look at it that way,” said the ticket writer, a Mr. C. Pedrosa. 

“I don’t care how you look at it. It’s a holiday.” 

“Well,” said Pedrosa, “it’s not a holiday according to our contract.” 

“Alright, let me ask you this,” I said, “Can I walk across the street to city hall right now and pay this parking ticket?” 

“No,” said Pedrosa.

“Why is that?” I asked. 

“City Hall is closed today,” he replied. 

“And why is city hall closed today?” 

“It’s a holiday,” he said. 

I smiled. 

“I rest my case,” I said, “When I get through with this, not only will I not have to pay my parking ticket, no one you’ve given a ticket to today will have to pay their tickets.” 

“You know,” said Pedrosa, “I think I believe you.” 

I then went to the office of the Pasadena Weekly where I told them my story and let them photocopy my citation. When I got home, I dashed off a letter to the Pasadena Star-News and tracked down and called one of the Pasadena council members. 

Within a few days, I filed a protest to the ticket and did a little research discovering when Christmas falls on a Sunday, the following day—Dec. 26—is not only a federal holiday, it’s a state and local holiday as well.

Over the next several weeks, I communicated with several Pasadena officials, and I suggested that they put a sticker on the parking meters clearly stating which days are considered parking holidays. 

On Jan. 27, 1995, I received a letter from the Pasadena parking citations supervisor explaining that the City had decided that none of the parking tickets given out on Dec. 26 would be enforced. Later on, stickers appeared on Pasadena parking meters stating which days are holidays. ... Maybe. The Pasadena Weekly wrote a nice article about my adventure entitled “He fought City Hall and Won.” 

Unfortunately, ticket writer C. Pedrosa had incorrectly listed the year of my car on the citation, and the Weekly repeated the error. I wrote the Weekly a letter, which they published—explaining that it was difficult enough to impress Southern California women without having four years added to the age of my car! 

So that brings us to this 2011 holiday season, and there still may be some problems. The stickers on the Pasadena parking meters define Christmas as Dec. 25. Although Dec. 26 is again a holiday, it appears that Pasadena may enforce the meters on that day—so beware. 

In addition, and strangely, the stickers define New Year’s Day as “Day of Rose Parade.” Because the parade this year will be on Monday, Jan. 2, parking meters should not be enforced that day. 

But since the stickers have not defined Jan. 1 as New Year’s Day, does the city plan to give out citations on Jan. 1? 

Proceed with caution, but don’t expect a response if you call the City. I still have not received a response to my inquiries to Pasadena’s parking enforcement division and public information office.