street parking between cars

Comment and question to biker community-
I ride in the East Bay a lot, and my experience is that I do not get a
ticket when parking between cars in marked metered spots on the street.
I realize that this is not legal but it also appears to not be illegal
(that I know of - and experience bears me out, since I know I'd be
ticketed otherwise). My logic is that the parking enforcement folks
realize they are getting full pay for the two paid slots and don't
hassle me. However, I have leaned to be VERY careful to first look for
disabled placards - they can park all day long with no violation, and I
HAVE gotten tickets in those situations. I'm very interested in other
riders experiences with parking tickets, both practically and because
it is a gray area of law enforcement with unwritten rules. I have, for
example, successfully fought a ticket from those new machines that
require a sticker to be placed on your headlight - a bike-ignorant
design if I ever heard one.

Lcushing.RemoveThis@igc.org wrote:
> Comment and question to biker community-
> I ride in the East Bay a lot, and my experience is that I do not get a
> ticket when parking between cars in marked metered spots on the street.
> I realize that this is not legal but it also appears to not be illegal
> (that I know of - and experience bears me out, since I know I'd be
> ticketed otherwise). My logic is that the parking enforcement folks
> realize they are getting full pay for the two paid slots and don't
> hassle me. However, I have leaned to be VERY careful to first look for
> disabled placards - they can park all day long with no violation, and I
> HAVE gotten tickets in those situations. I'm very interested in other
> riders experiences with parking tickets, both practically and because
> it is a gray area of law enforcement with unwritten rules. I have, for
> example, successfully fought a ticket from those new machines that
> require a sticker to be placed on your headlight - a bike-ignorant
> design if I ever heard one.
>

You are entitled to park in metered spaces that are designed for
automobiles. Berkeley has or at least had an ordinance prohibiting
sharing of metered spaces, but it seems to me that they'd have to prove
that you horned into a space that someone else was renting and not vice
versa.

If the meter expires, every vehicle parked in the space can be cited
(with the exception of those bearing handicapped plates or placards.

Aside from the parking authority, you'll want to make sure that the cars
you are parked between have every opportunity to get out of their spaces
without knocking your bike over.

As with lane sharing, you will probably encounter cagers who feel they
are entitled to exclusive use of the rented space. I had a note affixed
to my bike by someone with sticky fingers and a bad attitude, but no
worse damage than that.

I try to find full size spaces that are occupied by compact cars in
order to minimize the potential for friction. If the meter is close to
expiring, feeding it is likely to improve the chances that your space
mate will react courteously to your presence.

Rich, Urban Biker