The in basket: Sandy, who kept her last name to herself, was upset
to find a $101 ticket on the car she had left in the Agate Pass
park & ride lot with a “for sale” sign on it Oct. 4.
As
far as she was concerned, that lot is “a known place in the county,
as far back as anyone can remember, to sell your vehicle. My
husband bought his truck last February from seeing it on this same
lot,” she said.
“When I dropped my car off at 9 a.m. that Sunday the row next to
the highway was filled. I had to park mine in the back row.
I believe there were at least 20 cars with ‘for sale’
signs at that time. When I came back at 5:30 to pick up my
car, every car that was still on the lot with a ‘for
sale’ sign, had a ticket. For sure I saw eight cars with
tickets.
“What irks me is that for many year’s this park and
ride IS a well-known place to leave your car. I had
even checked with a long time resident of Bainbridge Island and he
had not heard/saw that cars are being ticketed/forbidden to be left
there.
“Has something happened that the rules have been changed, the laws
are going to be enforced and vehicles ticketed? Why had
violators not been consistently ticketed and laws enforced in
the past? Why now, why the change?”
The out basket: I don’t know if it was infrequent enforcement or
what that led the community to believe that weekend display of “for
sale” signs on cars in that lot was permissible. But there
certainly is no such exemption stated on the big official sign near
the entrance to the lot. It says no unauthorized cars or cars with
‘for sale’ signs are allowed there. The sign is surrounded by
brambles, so obviously is not new.
Since Sandy wrote, I’ve checked park & ride lots at McWilliams and
Mullenix roads and in Purdy, and all have the identical sign
forbidding the practice.
The signs all say such cars are subject to being impounded, which
can cost a lot more than $101. So it could have been worse for
those who were ticketed at Agate Pass.
WSP Sgt. Ken Przygocki told me “The Agate Pass Park & Ride … is
intended for motorists who carpool, vanpool, ride bicycles and
utilize the transit system and is clearly posted advising everyone
of this intent. The … posted rules are in effect 24 hours a day and
seven days a week.
“I
encourage your readers to make themselves aware of all posted signs
on state property before leaving their vehicles unattended,” he
said.
He
said enforcement at the Agate Pass lot has been stepped up since
1999, when a commuter complained about not being able to find a
space while many vehicles for sale took up spots. Another complaint
was received in October about a weekend shortage of spaces.
“Therefore a trooper went to investigate and citations were
issued,” Ken said.
“A
study was done of the park & ride and vehicles were observed parked
there with large amounts of pine needles and other debris covering
the vehicles (which indicated they had been there for some
time).
“(There were) boats on trailers for sale and that were not attached
to vehicles, and vans and other larger vehicles that took up 4-6
parking spaces. I myself (while off-duty) have observed numerous
types of vehicles, boats, trailers, motor homes, jet skies, trucks
and motorcycles parked at this lot with ‘for sale’ signs on many
occasions.
“Calls for service that are more of a priority prevent us from
checking the lot daily or weekly,” he said. “However, when time
allows, troopers will continue to check the lot for violations. It
is up to the trooper’s judgment if the vehicle is ticketed, towed
or if the owner is called to remove it.”
It’s not easy to find a well-traveled spot to leave a car with a
for-sale sign on it. You can get away with one or two of your own
cars on your own property, but if on someone else’s property, or if
it’s a succession of different cars, it becomes a zoning violation
that will get county code enforcement involved.
John Clauson of Kitsap Transit said his agency also doesn’t want
the park& ride lots it maintains on its own without state
partnership to be used for selling cars.
County code enforcement officer Steve Mount’s best advice? Get a
classified ad.
Epilog::
Sandy says she went to court in November and won her case.
“I
took pictures of every car with a For-Sale sign
the Sunday following my ticket and the Sunday preceding
my court date,” she said. “I also took a pic of the DOT sign
posted at the lot. Between the sign’s posted RCW’s, what
I was sited for on the ticket and the reason for the siting –
Abandonded Vehicle – the judge said the ticket was confusing
and found I did not commit the offense. He said the pictures
helped to tell the story that ticketing was not happening
consistently.
“The authorities know the lot is being used as a used car lot on
the weekends and the community, in a large sense, supports it,” she
asserted.
“Everyone I spoke to has been surprised that ticketing was
occurring,” she said. “Would I ever try to sell a car there again?
No way. I sold my car one week later, using a
national auto listing site.”