Tried to reschedule an in-person hearing (1 allowed), spoke to 2 people to confirm and then found out it wasn't rescheduled after all and now if I want an in-person hearing, I have to go to court. I want to fight the ticket because I was NOT in the red zone, despite operating my vehicle to pick up my children from school with expired tabs (that were in the mail after it was sent to the wrong address). I was parked behind it in the barred unused driveway which meter maids don't like because they can't ticket parked vehicles there usually. So, when they saw the expired tabs, they must have decided to issue another more expensive ticket together with it as some sort of punishment. Witnesses agree with me that I shouldn't have gotten the red curb ticket, and helped me take pictures. I just want my chance to appeal the ticket in person! Regarding the expired tabs ticket, I got it corrected and included the $10 check that they cashed, but they then asked for the full amount because I asked them to reconsider the ticket since I was waiting for the paid stickers to arrive at the time. Then, in order to get my in-person hearing, I had to send in a check for $28 for the retainer, which was also cashed and now they deem that I've paid them in full, forgetting they owe me $10! I agree that meter maids are necessary, but not when they are not honest or vindictive, or prey on honest citizens. I was fighting these based on the principal of right versus wrong, but I guess evil will prevail in the city of Berkeley. Thank goodness I have Yelp to vent or I might go postal after getting a notice that all my efforts to contest the tickets were ignored. read more

They got a bunch of clowns working there. Much like other reviewers report; I got a ticket for out-of-date stickers on my license plate... which was on my car... which was parked. When we got home, the stickers were there in my mailbox. Great timing right? So we tell them; Send in a long letter (which my fiancee took all night to write) and it was denied... whats more is we were notified via an increased fine! ($25 now $105.00) and then below that, in the notes field is said that our claim was denied. We even went down to the office in PERSON with our new born -- they gave us a piece of carbon paper that had a number on it and suggested we call. The number was to "Law Enforement Systems, Inc." which told us that they cannot help and that we should talk to Berkeley Parking Enforcement. We ended up being bullied, for something we never did. We're honest folks -- with great intentions. We're very focused on growing our community but this... Do yourself a favor, if you're in the right and their in the wrong, fight it immedaitely. Don't shutup about it. These jerks are out for nothing but money. I waited too long. I didn't realize. We ended up having to pay $136 so they would stop bullying us around. Mind you... I still see bullet shells on the curbs, condoms, bras, syringes and knifes... GOOD JOB BERKELEY YOU ARE DOIN' IT RIGHT! read more

How do you issue a ticket for not having a parking permit....when there *IS* a parking permit right on the back of my car? Hello genius Officer ..... thanks for not doing your job and writing frivolous tickets and wasting taxpayer time and not to mention fraying my nerves. I will appeal obviously. 1 star for having a convenient appeals system online, *if* you have a digital camera. God help me. read more

I parked my car on Hearst St. about a block and a half west of Shattuck(in front of a Medical Office bldg.) at 11:15 am. I then went to Berkeley Espresso and came back to check on my car at 2pm, with a parking ticket on the windshield. The ticket says that my tire was chalked at 10:05 am and that the ticket was written shortly after 1pm. Is this a common practice? It seems to me that it should be illegal to fraudulently state a chalk time on a car in order to justify issuing a fine. The principle of the thing has me so upset that I'm thinking of pursuing an appeal as far up as I can go, just because I think that somebody has to know when their city workers are committing such egregious acts of misconduct. I suppose that it's appropriate to initially confront the city and give them a chance to respond. Since they will obviously cover for themselves and deny my appeal, it seems that I will have to move this above them if there is to be any sort of justice here. Is there an office of the state to which one can appeal in matters like this? I know that I'm going to have to pay this fine, but I think that the city of Berkeley needs to know that it can't employ illegal methods like this to fatten its coffers. read more

WTH! I renewed my tags online when they expired and they took about 5 days to arrive. I didn't drive my car during this time so I just left it parked in front of my property (I don't have a garage) and received TONS of tickets from the berkeley parking nazis for expired tags with no temporary permit to operate the vehicle. I wasn't operating it obviously and there was nothing but a receipt to print up from the DMV site... MONEY GRUBBING VAMPIRES! trying to get the students to foot the bill for berkeley's ridiculous debt by excessively ticketing us! read more

I was loading box into my trunk. Office Boscoe pulls up. The meter is expired. "Are you going to put more coins in that meter?" Officer Boscoe asks. "No, I'm just leaving," I say. Officer Boscoe hops out of his meter maid car and writes me a ticket. I plead my case. Officer Boscoe does not reply, does not make eye contact, acts as though I'm not there. Weird. read more

Social class biased! I have been double parking in front of my apartment (Bancroft Way) for four years, and I have never received a parking ticket! On a Monday morning my girlfriend's Mom double parked to drop me off, and she was given ticket. The Parking Enforcement woman gave us no warning, and pathetically explained we were causing traffic congestion. We were parked for less than 15 seconds! Moreover, because of the of the location of my apartment, I have no other way to access my home unless I double park. The Parking Enforcement woman yelled at us to use the drop-off zone, but how can I do that when that zone is occupied 24/7 for buses and other business trucks! What else bothers me is how Berkeley Police have seen me double park before, and they never said anything about it. Also, I drive an old Acura TL, and like I said before, I personally have never been given a double parking ticket. However, this Berkeley Parking Enforcement woman saw that my gf's Mom was driving a new BMW, and wrote us a ticket out social bias. read more

I am thankful to all those officers who work for Berkeley Parking Enforcement because one of the staff gave me ticket for not parking more than 2 hour . It's not easy to earn money. I am a student . I go to college. I have to support myself. I have to work so that I can support myself and my education. it's so hard to earn money for me. I a trying to say why those officers want to make money from those people who works hard to live their life. I got the ticket without parking for more than 2 hour . I felt so bad because I paid money without doing any violation. Dude do you guys have any heart so that you all can understand innocent people feelings? That's all I want to say. Please stop giving ticket to innocent people. Thank you Have a nice day read more

I just got another ticket, I wonder if it was done properly, I woke up at my house at 9:00, talked on the phone for 10 minutes, got dressed, drove across town parked the car and Berkeley says I was there at 9:30 so I got a ticket. Okay I probably I deserved it, I wouldn't normally let this happen but ... I became extremely apathetic towards the parking program when I parked near the newest Trader Joe's when it opened. The parking signs are almost completely covered by trees. What you see is the bottom portion which looks like a typical green sign that says "2 hour parking except with area ___ permit". You couldn't see the very top in the trees which was recently changed that says "no parking except with area ___ permit". So I didn't have the time or tools to trim the trees and see the latest addition to the sign at the very top. The first three signs on the block were like this. I assumed it was a normal green 2 hour parking sign. Go into Trader Joe's for 7 MINUTES, and come out with a $65 ticket. I was once a careful parker, but it is actually harder to be careful when the mere thought of making sure to follow the rules makes your blood pressure go up. I wish I could make money so easy. Its predatorial. Better than Oakland though. In Oakland they say their unexpired parking permits can be used at **any** metered space in Oakland, but if you use a permit at a space that has an old sidewalk meter, they give you a ticket for not using the sidewalk meter. read more

I was parked in the Berkeley Way Lot, and I got back to my car literally two minutes late. I was unaware of the evil parking enforcers on the prowl in Berkeley. This particular officer, Officer Gray, was still near my car. I went to speak to her, but she refused to do anything about it. She had issued the ticket one minute and thirty seconds after my paper slip expired. I explained to her it was my birthday. She didn't care. These people had better hope that karma isn't real (though I think there is something to it). I went directly to the city office and lodged a request for Administrative Review, which was just denied. Well, I'll appeal it, because I think this is so unfair. However, I've got another idea, Berkeley - maybe I'll visit less often! Maybe I'll do less shopping and less parking in Berkeley. I hope a lot of people make this choice as long as they are so unreasonable about parking enforcement, and I hope the city's economy suffers as a result, because this is just wrong. And I had just spent quite a bit of money in Berkeley that afternoon eating lunch, shopping at Utrecht, and visiting Au Coquelet. Well, I think I'm going to spend my money in Oakland, where I live, from now on. read more

I am ONLY reviewing the people who work at 1947 Center, NOT the fanatical meter maids! I have no kind words for the people who hand out the tickets in Berkeley. However, I had a very good experience going to the ticket office. I went on a Tuesday afternoon at 330. There was no line at all. The lady I spoke to was understanding, kind, and very warm. When I walked in I was extremely frustrated and she understood my frustration and showed humor. When I showed her that the ticket notice had gone to the wrong address, she knocked off most of the late fees for me. It was actually the most pleasant encounter I've had with any City of Berkeley employee or parking enforcement/DMV worker in my life. That said, downtown Berkeley (and parts of Oakland) are MISERABLE places to park. Enforcement shows NO mercy. read more

Chris M. -- I'm also a victim of Ms. Gray's, and I was also *in my car* when she gave me a parking citation. First of all, I wasn't even aware that it was possible to get a "parking" ticket when you are behind the wheel of the car, with the keys in the ignition, with the flashers on. I mean, where I'm from (Oregon), when you "park," you turn off the car, lock it, and walk away. Anyways, here we were, at the International House "Loading Zone," which literally hundreds of cars stop at for varied periods of time per day-- six hundred people live at I house. I have seen up to 4 cars parked here in a line, right before the intersection of Piedmont and Bancroft. We (4 of us) are sitting there, flashers on, keys in the ignition, when Meter B*tch Gray comes scooting up on her little go kart. She says to me "Flashers don't allow you to park in a no parking zone." I replied that it was the loading zone for International House. She said that its a posted "No Parking" zone when in fact there are signs and red paint at either end of the street but none in the middle, and a police officer (a real one) *told* a friend of mine that it was OK to load and unload there. I offered to move the car (since I was in the car with the keys in the ignition) but she said "No, son, you've got a ticket." Now I don't know if Ms. Gray has children but I'm definitely not her son and I don't appreciate the unprofessional, rude way that she conducted herself. Now if Officer Gray was a *real* cop then I could understand her talking to me the way she did, but as I understand it, meter maids aren't even *supposed* to interact with citizens since they ticket cars that are PARKED and thus have no one in them. Maybe if the City of Berkeley and their goons remembered for a second that without Cal, Berkeley would just be another slum between Oakland and Richmond, they would treat the university students a little better. read more

I got a $28 citation for no back lisence plate when i do. They even took a picture of the plate. I appealed and no surprise, i lost. So i pay the fine and then to add insult to injury the charge me an additional $3 and called it a card processing fee. I wasnt told i was going to be charged this rediculous fee. Wow, a city that is aloud to extort and scam from the public. Guess the world will never grow up and greed is as strong as ever. No justice for the little guy read more

I'm so glad I'm not alone in my review for this God-awful organization. I work on Solano Ave (Berkeley side, unfortunately) and it frustrates me to see people feeding the wrong meters (WARNING TO FUTURE SOLANO AVE SHOPPERS: YEAH, the meter looks like it's meant for your car when you gotta see that tiny arrow they've provided BELOW eye level of your car). It chases away potential customers and local support. I also made the awful mistake of living in Berkeley so I got a ticket for street cleaning in the MAIL. I never had a paper version on my car so I didn't know I even had to pay them until I received a late notice in the mail demanding payment. Thanks, Berkeley. You've officially made my list of WORST CITIES IN CALIFORNIA read more

Where are the guys and gals that hacked off the parking meters some years ago. ? miss you, come back and hack the new parking thingys!!I worked in Berkeley for 10 years and never ever met a nice meter person. They were always rude, crude and lascivious! read more

They do their job. They could be a little stricter though. People are still getting away with things they shouldn't be.

On December 23, 2010, I received a citation for an expired parking meter in Berkeley, CA located on Shattack, next to the Cheveron Gas Station. Though I was dissapointed in the fact that I didn't get to the meter in time to replenish it with coins, what pissed me off was the fact shortly after I received the ticket, that an immature meter clerk, named Officer Robinson, ID # 842 purposely came by, slowed down her vehicle and looked at me with an evil smirk smiled and yelled MERRY CHRISTMAS. Because of her EVIL SMIRK SMILE, I immediately knew that it was her who wrote this ticket. Her unprofessional conduct makes you wonder how and why, and who would hired her? It's people like her who needs to be fired and replaced with mature, respectable people who have enough common sense not to boast and taunt at people for pleasure. What goes around, comes around, and though I will never see her getting hers, I know for a fact that "God don't like ugly. An ugly heart that is. WATCH OUT OFFICER ROBINSON (METER MAID, CLERK). REMEMBER ME WHEN ITS YOUR TURN, RECEIVING THE SAME RUDELY CONDUCT THAT IS HEADING YOUR WAY. read more

I asked for an administrative review of my citation. I received a letter that stated, Thank you for your inquiry. That was it, no explanation at all. I fully believe they saw my previous review here and are penalizing me for it. I called and requested further details for this. Again, a $49 citation, I did not even receive on my car or any follow up in the mail, is now $162, and they are citing additional penalties if not paid. People fear this city and the parking enforcement rules because apparently your DMV registration is effected. This is appalling and I cannot believe I live in this city. I was thinking of buying a home here....thinking hard about that one. read more

I wish I can give no stars here! Today I came back from a long day at work in the city to find a ticket on my Mini Cooper which is Parker legally across from my house in area "C". Why? The ticket says the car is 18 inches from curb. I immediately brought the meter from home to measure it and I found it be less than 9 inches. Thank you for officer Blackmon and others who are ruining our day stealing our money and not making us feel home. You are a shame to the community. Just because it's the end of the month and you have to finish your booklet doesn't mean accusing people like that! read more

Have you notice that they increase the numbers of tickets in Berkeley to pay for all there missing Business tax, Home tax etc. Also they announce today that the City of Berkeley needs $14.5 millions in deficit. Should the people coming to work in this city pay with unjustified, enormous amount of tickets. I got two tickets with in the same parking spot with in an hour. I do not want this city to charge me with parking tickets for their short falls. Most cities are doing the same, the people are paying again for the bad economy, not the one who put us in it!!!! read more

I had the exact same experience as Saul C just last night on Berkeley Way and Milvia. I couldn't believe it either. I had been circling the block a few times and was delighted to find a spot as someone was leaving. It was after dark, and the street was poorly lit, but about 3 cars ahead of me, I did see one of the very familiar green signs that all over Berkeley indicates 2 hour parking (unless you have a B, C, G, H, etc. permit). But this was no such familiar green sign, as I discovered about 40 minutes later when I returned to my car. At the top, the sign does indeed say "No Parking", instead of the normal "2 hour parking." Except I felt this was a little sneaky. I have never seen a sign like this anywhere else in Berkeley, and, in fact, I think this sign may exist only on that stretch of Berkeley Way between MLK and Shattuck. This upper part of the sign was hard to see it in the dark, in my case, or obscured by trees, as in Saul C's case. But in any case, the sign looks too much like the green ones were are all used to, that that's what feels sneaky. And the fee for $64 of course seemed too harsh for my crime. I admire all of you who have the stamina to go through the process of contesting a ticket, and congratulations to those of you who have prevailed! I don't think I have the energy to try and less confidence that I would win, because, well, the sign did say what it said, just so sneaky. But, what this experience does do, and I hope City of Berkeley folks read these Yelp reviews, is make me feel a lot less generous when they ask for more money. My husband and I have just paid our taxes, and I will just consider this another one on the long list of the already existing "special" Berkeley taxes. But I won't be voting for any more of them. read more

The Berkeley meter maid nazis strike again. Parked in a residential neighborhood literally two blocks from my house to go to a grocery store for 10 minutes. Got back to find a meter maid stopped at my car. She said it was "street cleaning" and pointed to a sign. I said, truthfully, I lived in the next town over, which has no laws about ticketing for street cleaning, and I had no idea this street was different. This person, named Navarette, refused not to write up the ticket -- for $49! This reminds me how I hate going into Berkeley by car, and how from now on I will try to shop in neighboring towns. read more

May 2010 was a favorite month for the city's parking enforcement pigs. If you check your calendars you can see how the orientation of days would confuse many drivers. I didn't get a ticket that month but just about every other car on my block did. They must have ticketed over 100 cars! I saw the meter ma'am in her toy car with a damned smile on her face, so happily throwing tickets like confetti. I couldn't fuckin' believe it. And where does the money go? More parking enforcement. Please fix limited parking by investing in the community (better public transit, better bike lanes, and other incentives) instead of fining and taxing the symptom. Work toward a cure and balance your books without stealing from your citizens. read more

Uhhh, $28 ticket for no front license plate? While the car is parked outside of my house? In a residential neighborhood? WHAAT??!

I just got tired of parking here so now I park in areas with free parking too bad for downtown berkeley business, i like them read more

After ~2 days, the website for paying parking tickets was updated to only show one street sweeping violation. Revising the review rating up to 4 stars. read more

I am a poor graduate student and had a meeting with my dissertation advisor. It ran over by 5 minutes. Within those five minutes, I had gotten a ticket. I believe Berkeley's parking enforcement is predatory. Even in Oakland, there is a five-minute reprieve. But clearly Berkeley needs to soak the public to guarantee its budget/tax base. It is a pretty pathetic tactic, but typical of this city's (state's?) financial calculations. Frankly, if I never had to go to Berkeley again in my life, I would be grateful. read more

Today I got a parking ticket. I was initially polite and respectful. I pointed out to the parking attendant that I was standing about 15 feet away when he drove up. I got to him within literally less than 30 seconds after his arrival. He refused to show me any sympathy and when I pointed out to him that it was my understanding that when citizens make it back to their car before any entries have been made electronically (or in the old days before pen hits paper) that they are supposed to let it go. He refused. Unfortunately that's when I got hot. I cursed and I regret that, but I felt so powerless and frustrated. He gave me the usual lines about respect but basically he was showing me no respect. He seemed to be enjoying it. He simply refused to give me the break that I believe the town council has mandated we're supposed to get. To me it's a technicality if it's a metered space with an old fashioned meter, a time station or just a space regulated by a sign or a painted color on the curb - If you get back in time before the ticket has been issued, it should not be issued, and if it's not yet on your windshield, it should be torn up. I waited there about 5 minutes for him to issue the ticket. Frankly though he was polite on the outside, I could see that he could care less about what I had to say. He was going to write me a ticket no matter what. And yes, I eventually cursed, which I should not have, but he made some comment to me as he drove off implying that I was going to call him something racist which is insulting anywhere but especially in Berkeley. My anger at him had nothing to do with race or national origin. I was mad because he refused to give me the break that I know at least some on our town council think is appropriate. In fact I believe, perhaps mistakenly, it is City policy to not issue a ticket under these circumstances. To quote Councilman Kriss Worthington: "If you show up and you are going to move your vehicle, which is the goal in the first place, the police shouldn't be forced to finish writing you a ticket when you are standing there mad at them," said Worthington, who rarely drives a car and can been seen riding his bike all around town. "But if you are intending to move your car - and create turnover - and are just a few minutes late, you shouldn't get penalized for this." read more

WHY? WHY? WHY? Why would these people, that the tax payers pay, choose to be thief's? I parked yesterday in Berkeley. Came out of the coffee shop 15 minutes before my 1st pass expired, sat in my car for 10 minutes. Got out renewed the parking pass, placed it on the dashboard, went to yoga. I then stressed out in yoga about parking, because I got a ticket last Friday. I did not want this to happen again, so I stayed in Corpse Pose for 2 minutes and got up to leave for the car. It was then that I saw A TICKET!!! So I went to the office on Central today and they said that because I had a pass from earlier, the officer thought that I had not renewed it. This is impossible. The new pass was clearly placed on the top of the old pass. He saw the pass with the expired time of 421 and gave me a ticket. Basically, he knew he could get away with it. Totally shitty. Really, totally shitty. read more

Berkeley citation officers seem to be running a scam - ticketing people for infractions for which there is no real code violation hoping people pay them without realizing there was a CVC violation. I got a violation for not having tabs on my rear license plate. I have two tabs, as the photos clearly show. We need to hold Mayor Bates and the head of the Transportation Dept and Citation Services responsible - this is just brazen, mafioso behavior from a city agency, more akin to Russia than the US. When a regulatory government becomes corrupt, people lose trust in all government. read more

Wow. I've never even BEEN to Berkeley and I have a parking ticket from these guys. I've called them a million times this afternoon to no avail. Not quite sure how I'm supposed to prove I've never BEEN to the city, but looks like this is going to be fun. read more

Went in a few weeks ago and bought a $20, 14-day parking permit. Last week, I was looking at my bank statement, and saw that they charged me $30 instead. Thieves read more

I decided to shop last Saturday for one particular item. I knew that a store in Berkeley had a good selection and good service. The store clerk warned me to put money in the parking meter just outside the store, to avoid what he called the "Berkeley shopping tax". So I did, using change he provided. Well, the trip took a few minutes more than the 1 hour+ time I bought. Sure enough, I found a $43 parking ticket on my car when I left the store. OK. I've learned my lesson. I will strenuously avoid shopping in Berkeley. It's cheaper to go somewhere else. Berkeley city fathers & mothers ---- you reap what you sow. read more

I would honestly feel better being outright mugged than having to pay the two back-to-back parking tickets I recently received from the Berkeley Parking Enforcement department. At least in the former scenario, there is no pretense of "justice" or "fairness" in the transaction and the criminal would freely acknowledge he is blatantly stealing your money. With Berkeley, I have the added bitter pill to swallow of their bureaucratic, power-tripping smugness and self-righteousness as they steal my money. My crime? Parking in a 2-hour residential zone without displaying a valid parking permit. Two tickets were issued, each one eagerly written one minute after the two-hour limit had eclipsed. Open and shut case, right? WRONG! Backstory: I WAS a valid residential permit holder, but had recently gotten in a fender bender in which my bumper had to be replaced. Got the car back from the shop Thursday night and was actually in the process of SELLING my car that Friday morning when the tickets were issued (permit office is closed on Friday anyhow btw). Did I also mention that I was graduating from school AND moving out of the country that same weekend? As I was bemoaning my bad luck and walking back to my apartment, I actually SAW a meter maid in the process of issuing more tickets all along the block--I explained the situation, my valid permit, their office being closed anyhow making a day permit impossible, the whole nine yards. He looked at my tear-stained face (2 $50 parking tickets on top of all my other moving expenses was just the straw that broke my back) and had the audacity to snidely remark, "If you can AFFORD to move to Europe, I think you can afford to pay those tickets." WTF!?! What clear evidence of Berkeley Parking's obvious social class prejudices that they make no effort to hold in check. My attempts to contest these tickets were, predictably, completely futile, and to add insult to injury, they ignored my explicit instructions to direct all future correspondence to my new address in Amsterdam (or even email me if they wanted to save postage!) as I could not forward my mail internationally. I even called them to follow up and explain this over the phone and they distractedly confirmed that they would do so. What did they end up doing? You guessed it, sent their (inevitable) rejection of my contestation straight to my old address. Good thing I followed up again on the phone because God knows it would have been MY fault had I not paid promptly. Thanks Berkeley for a great send-off. I promise I will never again return to your dysfunctional, bankrupt police-state ever again! I'm sure you put my money to good use by investing more in your meter maid army to keep generating revenue for your city. read more

Their meters have a minimum payment of $0.50 even if you don't need to stay there that long.

Well, what do you know, Officer Gray strikes again! I have a clearly displayed (I even checked it from outside to make sure they would be able to see it...or so I thought) permit in my windshield and Officer Gray writes "unable to verify info. Permit xxxxxx blocked". I don't know what was blocked, but Officer Gray apparently scrutinized my windshield (which had a rather expensive 1 day permit by the way) looking for some excuse to write a ticket, and happily decided that it wasn't visible enough for his/her non-existent eyes. Submitted request for Administrative Review today, the person at the office photocopied the permit for me. I hope that if these meter maids get commission for the tickets they write, that they get an even larger deduction for each ticket contested and invalidated. How's that for funding the city? Oh and if it's not clear, this was in a residential preferential permit zone with normal 2 hour limit. Eric B's review suggests that they don't pay as much attention to these areas, and I think he's right, but I got a ticket even with a permit, so be very careful when you see those stupid golf carts rolling around! If it's officer Gray sitting in there, she'll probably double back and mark your car as soon as you walk away! read more

The City of Berkeley is going downhill fast. For years the downtown has been notorious for militantly enforcing the smallest infraction of parking violations by the fraction of a second over time. I have heard numerous experiences of people charged X2 with no appeal, and I myself have now recently had another unfair treatment by this department with no recourse. Underpayment of $3 on a ticket, they send to the WRONG ADRESS according to my vehicle registration (they sent to insurance address), will not allow forgiveness of late penalties on THREE DOLLARS because I was working away from home as a Merchant Seaman and could not retrieve mail at my previous address, and would never tell me how much I owed through their Collections Department in Los Angeles. Downtown is already becoming overcrowded with no parking available even at night when the meters are off, long time clubs - like the Down Low have closed. They had one of the best salsa nights class in the East Bay for many years. It is not worth coming near downtown, spending your time or money in any way. The Parking Enforcement Department makes an already bad situation much much worse. Perhaps if you live in Berkeley you can spend all day and deal with these people in person, but for those who come to visit there is just no reasonable dealing with this department. An underpayment of $3 turning into over $100 which came about because of this departments own incompetence. THEY WILL NOT CONCEDE this in any way, and I am sick of it. Unfortunately nothing has changed with Berkely's parking enforcement since the days when people got so pissed off in the late 90's, they cut the heads off parking meters downtown and the city of Berkeley then lead the way in establishing the pay stations. I have no problem with the stations and change, but make it real for the people who live here and visit the downtown. The parking enforcement division is still just as bureauractic and anti-citizen as it ever was in the past and even worse. read more

I parked tonight at 5:55pm on the west side of Bonita between Hearst and Berkeley Way. It was dusk. I went to class at UC extension and came out at 9:05. I was STUNNED to find a $64 ticket on my car. Turns out there's a sign on that little tiny block unlike anything I've seen anywhere else. It looks exactly like the regular 2 hour limit signs unless you have an E permit, but this one actually says NO PARKING (unless you have an E permit) between 8am and 7pm. 7PM!!!! Where else is there a sign that says no parking until after 7PM???? And why just there, on a little tiny block and nowhere else??? Can you say parking trap? Set for students whose classes begin at 6pm. This parking scam preys on students who are often unemployed and financially strapped. I see that someone mentioned there's another one elsewhere in Berkeley. IF the city WANTED citizens to recognize that these spots are completely unusual, they should paint the curb a strange color as a warning. And where do they come up with the night pay to pay the meter maids to ticket after 6pm???? It's just plain wrong. read more

Excuse me for not covering last years sticker with this years sticker entirely. I received a ticket from the a**hats that said I have expired tags. I think not. This is not the first run in with Berkeley parking enforcement. Then my mother and I park at a meter and get a ticket for going over time. The meter was running fast (as it has on MANY Berkeley meters). I know Berkeley thinks it is in another universe however, the time on the phone is exact (well within a minute depending if you are ATT or Verizon.) It is enough to keep my sales tax dollars out of Berkeley. read more

Beyond absurd... they give tickets when there was no violation, don't even review your message or evidence when contesting a ticket, and going beyond that is so ridiculously bureaucratic (get a video on physical tape?!?!?) that it's not worth it. Terrible. read more