Seattle driver gets parking ticket… while paying for parking

A driver tells KIRO Radio it took her five minutes to pay for parking at a downtown Seattle meter, and in that time she got a parking ticket.

Isabelle Kerner says she parked her car in downtown Seattle near the King County Courthouse, and in the five minutes it took her to pay for parking at the street kiosk, she got a ticket.

“The bike parking ticket meter maid ticketed my car, and I’m like, ‘I just paid at the machine,’ and they said, ‘There’s nothing we can do, you’ll have to contest it at court,'” she described.

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So, Isabelle contested the ticket, the judge ruled she was in violation, and the $48 ticket was upheld. The judge then reduced the ticket to $10, a one-time option that Isabelle says cannot be granted again.

She’s angry her one-time reduction has been used up. She says the ticket is going on her record, and argues that there should be a specified grace period giving drivers time to pay for parking.

“If somebody could clarify and reach out to set some sort of standard on how long we really have to pay for parking, especially in instances downtown where the meter’s literally at the end of 30 or 40 foot block, it can take a significant amount of time to walk there,” she said. “I think the whole thing is kind of about taking more money — I don’t know why we replaced the quarter machines.”

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KIRO Radio contacted Seattle Municipal Court and were told it stands by the judge’s ruling on the ticket.

A Seattle police spokesperson told us if you think it is a mistake when a ticket is issued, you can engage with the parking enforcement officer, and they have the discretion to cancel the ticket. He also said some people park and don’t pay, instead watching their car and paying after they get ticketed, hoping to argue it took them that time to make the payment.