Anyone who has ever been nailed by a cop for speeding or an illegal U-turn knows the feeling when they see a police officer violating one of the rules of the rules, but not in the course of an emergency.
It’s frustrating and you pound your steering wheel at the hypocrisy of it all (even though we were wrong in the first place).
An even worse feeling for some people is when you have been ticketed for breaking Burnaby's street parking rules and then you see a City of Burnaby worker do the exact same thing.
Tim is one of those people.
He emailed me after witnessing such a thing in Burnaby on 11th Avenue at 12:31 p.m. on Sept. 5. That’s when he snapped the above photo of a city truck parked illegally when signs are clear that there is no parking on this section of street.
“I enjoy your posting and writing around how Burnaby citizens are breaking the rules on the road, off the road, and even up to the last minute before they leave the car (parking),” Tim said. “I would expect the city staff would be a role model in all these. Instead, I caught this at Popeye's today, where a staff member parked a city truck where it clearly says no parking. He went into Popeye's right after he parked the car. I would expect the staff members would have higher standard than average citizens. I guess this proves the staff members are humans after all.”
Sure, it’s not really a big deal, but hey, the city loves handing out tickets and threatening to tow people away for violating the bylaw so it’s only fair they be held to the same standard.
“I’ve seen city vehicles parked on my street before and left there for hours while the worker goes inside their home,” wrote Sara. “Our street has very little available parking and it sucks when you see a city vehicle adding to the problem.”
I wrote recently about Burnaby resident Parvin Chami, who gave council an earful at a recent council meeting about parking on Kalyk Avenue, near Burnaby Hospital.
Chami, who says residents from a nearby street (Curle Avenue) park illegally on her street, was frustrated that she received a city ticket warning that her vehicle would be towed after she parked it in front of her own home.
That story brought little sympathy from readers.
“It’s not enough to have millions in home equity and her own parking spaces – now she has to take up street parking that others could be using,” wrote one reader. “That is the very definition of entitlement. Just tow her.”
Tough crowd.
Follow Chris Campbell on Twitter @shinebox44.
