Parking practices are not friendly

I stopped to pay a bill at Merwin’s Tuesday morning. Not a single car was on either side of the street. Less than five minutes afterward, I had a ticket. The ticket stated the car was not 100 percent in the white box painted on the street that designated a space.

I went to the police station and was told that it was all out of their control. The city contracts with Diamond Parking (always someone else to blame). They gave me an 800 number in Seattle, which produced a menu to select from, which said I had 15 days to pay or I would receive an additional fine, followed by being turned over for collection.

Friends agree that a notice would have been in keeping with a friendly atmosphere, especially since there were no cars in sight. But then they say just pay the $25 and let it go. Doesn’t that happen way too much? It’s not right. This is bureaucracy on a local level run amuck. I wonder what they did when the snow was on the road?

I have another thought: why should I continue to support downtown businesses? Home Depot and Walmart both have parking lots, and they need business too.

Friendly Sandpoint? Questionable. My question is, “Why has Sandpoint turned over control to Seattle? Forget the contract explanation What about friendly?

If this is what the city, the chamber, and the DSBA are after, I guess I’ll just accommodate them and do my business elsewhere.

JIM “ZEKE” SOLSVIG

Sandpoint