There are a few issues that may or may not be proprietary to the OCPD that I would like to raise. I would prefer you post it. Or set the stage so I can post remarks. This parking meter issue on Monday night is opening a can of worms that many do not know about but I think once it is aired there will be many comments.
1. The year-round tenants downtown are given parking permits when they sign a lease. However, in many of the older downtown locations there is not enough parking for the number of tenants in that building. The landlord is not explaining this to the prospective tenants and it isn't until they get a parking ticket which can be given every 3 hours or they get towed. It used to be you could only get one ticket per day but then the Town realized people were purposely getting tickets versus paying meters and changed it to every 3 hours. So you are looking at a young adult trying to work full-time, sometimes two jobs and their paycheck goes to the Town Of Ocean City to pay for parking (or tows). This brings up towing...and insider knowledge...but anyone having paid the fine will attest to the conundrum they encounter. I will get to towing in a minute.
The delivery drivers to the many downtown businesses also get tickets and not cheap ones! for double parking, blocking dumpsters and the meter readers wait for them to jump out to deliver their goods and then ticket them. Doesn't matter if it is a 2 minutes UPS delivery or a Sysco 15 minuted food delivery or dry cleaning pick up from a hotel. No one is safe from the jaws of the meter reader. Thick-skinned they are! This requires the delivery person to come to HQ and pay the fine, out-of-pocket and then some companies reimburse that employee and some do not. And some tickets are given to Council members who give them to the Chief to be dismissed....who gets this privilege and who does not? This all takes time away from the business and leaves a bad taste in the mouth of the innocent.
The condominiums and hotels in town are not telling their paying vacationers that the alley or the road next to them is not their property some even direct them to park there until their unit is ready! and they are getting towed (is there a phone call made when they park there? Is there a payoff? between the tow company and the hotel front desk?) Seems to me too many coincidences to ignore...the majority of the towing is done on check-in and check-out days when vacationers are loading or unloading. I had families show up claiming they had started to load the vehicle to leave and they got towed while going back upstairs to retrieve more luggage! Car seats were in the vehicles and babies formulas and the vehicle was towed! Talk about entrapment! Also, the hotels and condos are overbooking and this means not enough parking spaces and even though the condo or hotel gives the customer a parking pass to hang in their window they get towed because they were not on the property and not one of these people were informed of this.
2. Let's keep with the young adult working full-time. They have a room-mate and they both have cars but only have one parking pass because the landlord's building does not have enough parking spaces. They work opposite schedules now because of this. One comes home from work to find their car gone and they call the police thinking it has been stolen. Which the first place they (OCPD) check is the impound lot and guess what! it is there. Now, you can not get your car out for less than $180 or if a dolly was used $215. Seriously. Get this. The Town collects $25 of that fee, the Tow Company gets the rest. The Town houses the vehicle and charges $15 per day storage so if the young adult can not pay the fee until the end of the week the fee just goes up and up. There were even times when the vehicle was forfeited because the young adult could not afford to pay the fines. The Town then turns around and sells this vehicle on it auction site. Talk about a bad experience in Ocean City.
3. Let's talk towing. Last I knew there were 13 Tow Companies. But in reality only about 5 actual because one company can have multiple names. There is not a limit on applying for a license, I think they even did away with needing to be licensed to tow in OC. and I don't know why there are not more companies or who or how they get to do it but these Tow truck companies make 87% of the income and it seems there are sections, almost like territories, that are consistent every week. It is guaranteed income for these guys.
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14 comments:
This is ridiculus. The tow company get $155.00 per tow. They might as well stick a gun in your side. That is highway robbery. I think $50.00 to $75.00 is more than enough to pay for a tow. Especially
when a lot of the time the tow is not that far. These tow companies are getting rich off the backs of the poor workers and tourist. If this happened to me I would go somewhere else for vacation or work.
Most of the people I know have given up on O.C. and go to the Outer Banks.
I delivered beer in OC for five summers from the inlet to 15th street. I was never harassed by the police nor ticketed for parking.
WELCOME TO MARYLAND WHATS IN YOUR WALLET ....................
I used to love to hit O.C. but there's to much crap to deal with. First the city trash then the O.C. government who want's to ticket everyone and my former favorite bar seacrets has been turned into some inner-city club instead of the cool Jamaican beach bar.
Ditto 12:53. It's been OBX for 18 years, not set foot in OC for 12, though had previously been there 3-4 times/week and tried almost every new eatery for over 15 years. Have no desire to tolerate OC anymore.
There is tons of free parking in Ocean City and to this day I haven't come across a camouflaged "No Parking" sign. The amount of free spots is in direct proportion with the amount of lazy people who don't want to walk 1/2 a block to their rental unit.
Additionally, if your car got sold at auction because it was at the impound lot for too long then you're an idiot. For a vehicle to be sold at auction it would have to remain at the impound lot for an extreme amount of time. Also, you would receive a notice in the mail about the forfeiture and then the department would have to wait a certain amount of time for you not to respond back before even transferring the title, let alone selling it at auction.
Basically, stop your whining, don't be lazy, don't park where you shouldn't, and pay your fines in a timely manner if you disregard any of the previous.
Lol I agree with 3:47. I have worked in OC for the last 5 years and never had a problem with parking. It's pretty clear where you can park and where you can't. If you get towed you just aren't paying much attention.
It's not hard to park legally. You're an idiot if you get ticketed or towed. It's your own fault not the police or anyone else. Take some responsibility.
I have to agree with 3:47 as well. I work in OC in the summer and we give out one parking pass per room. When the customer says they have more than one car, we inform them where they can POSSIBLY find a parking space.Some are understanding of that and some get mad.
I would rather go to a Delaware beach or Assateague O.C. is to inner-cityfied.
As predicted, EVERY city and town in the USA is scrambling to find ways to raise taxes, fees, fines, and surcharges. The Outer Banks? DO NOT drive 26 in a twenty five MPH zone. EVER. You will get a ticket. JUST like in O.C. or any resort town. Tourists are looked upon as an INTRUSION and a necessary evil, but more than anything as an oportunity to clean their clock (AKA: their wallets and bank accounts). Wait for the summer and the ever-longer police "campaigns" (to "protect" us, you know) against, "aggressive driving", improper lane changes, seat belt violations, and the newest one -- cell phone use. Imagine the technology they will roll out to determine if there is cell phone use in your car...Cops will be siiting on bridges a mile down the road with binoculars to watch for the cell phone users and seat belt violators... What fun we will have on vacation....Typical cop call --- "headquarters, I need back up! Now! I got 3 teenagers not wearing their seat belt on Rt 50!! Bring the dogs, too! Gonna need a full car search and oh yeah, there's a girl in the car, too!! STRIP SEARCH TIME!!"
12:33 You're so delusional and ignorant as to what the majority of police officers do with their time and what they value as important uses of their time. Although I know you would absolutely never take the time to do it, I would suggest you make an effort to do a ride along with a police officer one time.
3:19....Its just a few bad apples, huh? And the majority of cops do what with their time? MONITOR TRAFFIC. My wife's sister's husband is a cop. So was my wife's brother. The stories they tell (and laugh about) are an insult to regular citizens. EVERY day there are stories of cops killing a kid because they thought he had a weapon, or beating to death a man who "resisted" too much (10 cops against a guy in handcuffs), or how it took 6 cops twenty minutes to subdue ONE man, or how a drug ring of police officers was exposed, or a ticket fixing scheme involving DOZENS of cops was found, or videos (plural) of tough guy cops body slamming women to the concrete, or shooting tear gas canisters to the heads of non-violent protesters, or cops wading into crowds swing their (weighted) batons at anyone in reach. The list is endless, actually. THAT'S not delusional. Those are documented facts and cases, on court records and police reports across the nation. You're delusional if you think the majority of citizens like you, or respect you. You are bullies and short, law-flaunting thugs hiding behind the authority GIVEN to you BY THE CITIZENS. Whom you profess to serve. It's just never any of the citizns who happen to be be in front of you at the time. I forgot to mention the propensity of cops to strip search teenage (and preteen ) girls.....Is that like a tough guy club thing with you people, or just a recreational pastime?
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