After outrage, San Mateo backs off parking crackdown

Moving forward, tickets will only be issued for parking in a red zone or in any other zone marked as no parking, parking in a handicapped zone, blocking a fire hydrant and blocking a crosswalk or intersection, said Mayor Joe Goethals. 

Officials Wednesday also announced the 1,241 parking citations issued in the city between March 17 and April 8 will be dismissed or refunded — no action is needed by the registered owner — but added that parking enforcement representatives issued nearly 40% fewer citations since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to that time period last year.

The controversy ironically stems from past concerns that the city for years failed to enforce parking infractions, particularly in residential areas. In response to those concerns, the City Council in February approved a contract with Serco, a British-based provider of public services, to handle parking enforcement in the city.

Because of the COVID-19 crisis, officials on April 6 decided to suspend enforcement of metered parking, which ostensibly caused Serco representatives to instead roam the city’s neighborhoods looking for offenders. Residents this week began to get ticketed for infractions including being too far from the curb or parking in the wrong direction — transgressions they say while technically illegal have never previously been deemed ticket worthy in the city.

Those residents were outraged about the timing of the enhanced enforcement, as many have lost their jobs due to COVID-19 and are struggling to afford basic necessities, let alone a ticket. Some have also complained they were ticketed while running an essential errand.

“It’s disgusting to be writing tickets during a pandemic when everyone is unemployed,” said Tim Weiland, a resident of the Sunnybrae neighborhood. “It was really, really poor timing and it’s not showing concern for the citizens of San Mateo in this time of need.”

Weiland was given a $42 ticket this week for failing to be within 18 inches of the curb in front of his house — an infraction he hasn’t seen enforced in 13 years in the neighborhood. He said his neighbors were also ticketed for other minor infractions, and warnings were also posted on countless vehicles.

A person who identified themselves as Stacy Sandkulla said in a comment posted on the Daily Journal’s website that she received three tickets at once while shopping at Draeger’s Market on April 6. She claimed Serco gave her two $46 tickets and one $42 ticket because the meter expired while she was shopping and for missing a front license plate as well as failing to park within 18 inches of the curb.

“Something is obviously wrong with this picture,” she wrote. “They are harassing citizens at a time when we are all stressed out about our jobs and our future.”

Resident Kevin Benner was also upset to find the woman who cares for his aging parents was ticketed because her car was parked in the wrong direction while unloading groceries. He added neighbors were ticketed for parking on the sidewalk on narrow streets where doing so is almost necessary to avoid collisions.

Benner is also concerned that having Serco employees place a paper ticket on vehicles could help spread COVID-19.

“If the Serco employee puts the ticket on my father’s caretaker’s window then she touches it then it could come into the house of my 89-year-old parents,” he said.

Goethals acknowledged the concerns of his constituents, and described parking enforcement since Serco took over as a “failure.”

“It’s been a failure thus far. … We’re trying to get things back on track,” he said. “The way this company started to roll this out was really badly timed and badly executed. … We will move forward with a plan to address the needs of people who want to see enforcement carried out in an appropriate and equitable way.”

Goethals noted that many parking infractions, including blocking a crosswalk, must continue to be enforced because they pose health and safety issues.

If the new approach to enforcement doesn’t work, then the council later this year will re-evaluate “whether that contract [with Serco] is both necessary and affordable under the economic umbrella we’re all under,” Goethals said.

zachary@smdailyjournal.com

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