Ride to Work: June 21st & DPS parking

Not really much to report as I would normally ride to work anyway, except for those days where I was recently unable due to my aged foot. I seem to be getting a few percent better everyday but taking shorter steps and resting more. Last week my foot had swelled to the point where I could not put on my riding boots and had to resort to my running shoes with laces nearly untied, otherwise I would not have been able to get my bike home from the dentist. Shifting was painful and I struggled to take routes where I didn't have to stop so often. My dentist is in the congested West End of Vancouver where parking is severely limited. Most of the parking is reserved for residents who have to display their specially issued "decal" on the windshield. My broken tooth has undergone 3 procedures and the crown will be in place later this week, all because I bit into a piece of chocolate and shattered my tooth at the gum line.



and finally the photo of my bike at work on Ride to Work day




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Diamond Parking Limited: DPS

Imagine my surprise when I opened up an unidentified envelope last April to find this parking violation notice.



I am very careful to make sure that I always have enough money in the meters and purchase tickets at the dispensor on any parking lot, and I seldom pay for parking preferring to walk a further distance. At first I thought that the ticket was a mistake and perhaps that they had written down the incorrect license plate number. I did a google map search of the address and found that it was the parking lot at Wendy`s (hamburger fast food joint).

I seldom have meals at fast food places but I was racking my brain to try to figure out when I was there and I remembered that I had to go to a meeting and decided to just grab a burger on my way. The next morning on my way to work I passed by the Wendy`s to grab a photo of the signs



this sign had fallen down and was on the ground leaning against the cement wall. There was another sign on a pole



I think I have abided by the terms of the Wendy`s sign. I parked, went inside had a burger and left. There was NO ticket on the windshield, there are no meters or any ticket dispensers on the lot and no way that anyone could confirm whether you were there for 30 minutes or 32 minutes. I did not leave the lot at any time to go elsewhere as I was also accussed of doing.

When I received this ticket I immediately phoned the Wendy`s Manager who identified himself as DAN. He seemed helpful at first but was really of no help. I sent a fax to Wendy`s head office in Ontario and have never received any reply from them. I also wrote two letters to DPS and have never received any official reply from them either. I was getting upset and was thinking of calling ace in the hole, Geoff James but it was too great of an expense to fly him to Vancouver but he does work for boxes of Chocolate.

Dan, the Wendy`s manager asked if I had a receipt for my meal but who keeps a receipt from a fast food restaurant. I did not pay by credit or debit card, preferring cash so I had no way to prove that I actually ate there. Dan said he would go through his cash register tapes and try to find my order. Although this is what he told me, later he said they don`t keep their tapes this long. I asked if he would just cancel the ticket as I was their customer and abided by their rules as indicated on their sign. He told me that he was not in control of the parking lot and it was being supervised by DPS.

I had a window table while I devoured my hamburger and could see my car below. No one approached the car. I did not notice anyone coming by nor recording any license plate numbers. It is not right to send you a notice for over a hundred dollars over a month later.

I eventually resorted to issuing a formal complaint through the Better business Bureau and finally got the ticket cancelled without so much as an apology. Do a google and you will see lots of problems with this company doing the same thing in Seattle. They utilize predatory tactics and I don`t understand why our local motor vehicle department would be willing to devulge the names and address of the registered owners. DPS tickets are un-enforceable but they say they have the right to have your car towed away if found on one of their lots and you never know which lots they are supervising.



I shudder when I think that you are presumed guilty without any burden of proof from this Company. Thank goodness my ticket was eventually cancelled.