Today's Column: "The Officer Behind That Ticket..."
You see him all the time on the streets of downtown Greensboro. And if you think parking meters are urban landscaping ornaments, he's the guy who will remind you otherwise.
Meet Stuart Clark, one of three parking enforcement officers who monitor Greensboro meters, garages and side streets for those of us who scoff at road markings or flashing "expired" markers, let alone handicap signs.
I had the pleasure of spending time with Clark on a warm, breezy Monday last week as he took me around downtown in one of the department's new Jeep Wranglers.
In the three hours we spent together, Clark, who carries a handheld electronic computer and printer, issued nearly 20 citations.
All but one were for $5, a penalty that makes him roll his eyes, especially when he shares stories.
One parking officer underwent surgery on her knee last year after an angry motorist knocked her to the ground with a car, Clark said. She has since transferred to another job in the police department.
Another officer was tackled some years back by an A&T football player upset with a ticket. Then you have the everyday drivers who beg, argue, cajole or try bullying their ways out of tickets.
"It can be pretty rough sometimes," he says of the agitated drivers who confront parking officers with the tickets they just found under their windshield wiper blades. "And you think, 'All of this over $5?' "
The city collected more than a half million dollars in 2005 from the roughly 44,000 tickets issued. Not all of those citations were paid off. About one out of every four tickets remains outstanding.
He does not have a quota, though Clark said he typically issues about 50 citations on an average day. Last Monday was low with only 33 tickets generated by the end of his shift.
The job, he says, while not always glamorous, allows him face time with merchants and shoppers and businessmen and visitors who swarm through downtown every day. And at times he can teach people a thing or two about driving.
Such was the case of a woman who crossed the center yellow line on South Elm Street to snag a parking spot on the other side of the road. She pulled the car into the spot, its headlights facing north along the southbound shoulder.
That's against the law.
"Like anything else, if they get away with it, they're going to keep doing it," Clark said of such violations. "They get confident."
So the next time you see him, give a wave or, perhaps, a handshake. Introduce yourself. And maybe -- just maybe -- he'll let you move your car the next time you see him reaching for his computer at an expired meter.
Crosswalks update
A reader suggested to Fast Forward last month that the city install crosswalk signals at two Battleground Avenue intersections -- at Pembroke Road and one block south at West Northwood Drive.
Consider it done!
City engineers visited the intersections and concluded that Caroline Cook, of Greensboro, was dead-on with her observations regarding traffic volume and pedestrian use of the sidewalks in the area.
"It does appear there is a need for the crossings," said engineering manager Adam Fischer. "There's definitely pedestrian attractions on both sides of the street -- shops that people from surrounding neighborhoods would walk to."
Fischer said last week that crews will perform the signal installation, estimated at $5,000-$7,000 each, in two to four months. He revised his initial cost estimate from February, where an off-the-cuff guess was $10,000 each.
Fast Forward got copies of the work orders and await the final results. We'll revisit the issue in July if nothing moves.
Shoney's Redux
A reader in June asked why the driveway to the Shoney's restaurant on South Regional Road had a drop of several inches from the parking lot into the lanes of travel.
The state admitted that a subcontractor made a paving error and promised to fix it. Nothing had happened by December, so Fast Forward pressed the issue. One of two driveway aprons was repaved this winter. Then nothing. So what's going to happen with the last little bit?
"I'm going to have my crew do it and bill him," state engineer Lane Hall said Thursday, apparently out of frustration. "It's getting ugly. And these people deserve faster service than this."
Whoa! Now that's what Fast Forward is talking about... some good 'ol fashion action. A day later, Hall reported another nugget of news:
The engineer in charge of the project and the company that did the paving are planning to meet today. Hall, who isn't able to make the meeting, said he hopes to have additional information for next week's column.