A New Wave of Blocking the Box Parking Ticket Traps

Last Updated on October 30, 2017 by Lawrence Berezin

Parking Ticket Warriors are springing new blocking the box parking ticket traps for the unwary

Blocking the box drives me nuts when I see warriors stand idly by, watch gridlock grow in an intersection, and do nothing to ease the congestion. The warrior could be directing traffic, instead of issuing blocking the box parking tickets.

Oops, my bad. I misspoke. What I meant to say was that revenue from parking ticket fines trumps congestion, safety, and the effects of idling on the environment. For a city that takes pride in its environment-friendly programs and initiatives,  why do our leaders encourage a daily environmental tsunami during rush hours at all major intersections?

Blocking the Box trap #1

I received a call last week from Camille, a wonderful member of the driving community. Camille waited for a green light at the intersection of 7th Avenue and 37rh Street at 5:28 p.m. A parking ticket warrior was standing on the sidewalk at the far corner of the intersection while gridlock grew, and the natives were becoming restless waiting to cross the street.

As Camille drove slowly through the intersection, a few pedestrians started to cross against the light. Slowly but surely the far crosswalk overflowed with pedestrians. Camille was unable to drive through the crosswalk blockade before the light turned red.

The warrior zapped her registration and issued a parking ticket for obstructing traffic at the intersection. Ca-ching $115. The warrior shared some words of wisdom with our fair lady:

“You should have honked your horn.”

Blocking the box trap #2

I call this the “now you see it, now you don’t” blocking the box trap. It occurs when warriors station themselves on the sidewalk, watch congestion grow, and wait to spring the ambush when the light turns red. They approach members of the driving community stuck in the box and direct them to pull to the curb on both sides of the roadway.

Are you starting to get the picture? Now cars are filling up illegal parking spaces on both sides of the street turning three travel lanes into one…Ca-ching, ca-ching. Here’s the now you see it (vacant travel lanes) and now you don’t (reduced to one travel lane).

Commentary

I’d love to hear blocking the box stories. What strategy did you execute to pass safely through the intersection? Were you caught short?

Here are some valuable tips on how to beat a blocking the box parking ticket