Saturday, October 3, 2009

Your Tax Dollars Take a Break

I was walking back from my conviction for crossing against the light yesterday when I spied this law enforcement trinket in front of the Starbucks at 2nd & Lenora:

I gotta say that even though I'm still rather miffed at the law, I really like their wheels. This particular number belongs to Parking Enforcement, AKA the Meter Maids. I saw one of these earlier waiting for a light, got all excited and started asking its operator questions. Here's how it went:

Me: Wow, is that new?
She: Yes, sir, it is new.
Me: Is that some kind of all-terrain Segway?
She: No, sir, it is not a Segway.

The light changed and she rolled away. Clearly, she wasn't nearly as thrilled as I was about the encounter. I guess getting yelled at by irate motorists 20 times a day will do that to you.

So is this the wave of the future for the Meter Maids? I've seen them riding bikes and Segways - in addition to their traditional three-wheeled carts - but will this be part of their enforcement arsenal? If I may proffer an opinion here: as you're no doubt aware, this is Seattle. It rains a lot here. I know, I know, by national rainfall averages, we're way down the list. Annual rainfall has no bearing on my argument. My only point is that it drizzles here for weeks on end. That is beyond dispute, no? OK, so this slick little thing, as you may have noticed, doesn't have a roof. Am I to assume that it will only be used in clear weather? If so, it will see about 80 days of action a year. Is that a wise investment? I mean, it looks expensive - with those mag wheels and such. What's wrong with the carts? They still strike terror into the hearts of those who park overtime. Although my heart swells with civic pride at the thought of our Meter Maids having such cool gear, I'm asking myself whether they're really necessary. As usual, my mind says no, but my heart says yes.

What do you think?

3 comments:

Jim said...

It kind of looks like a horseless chariot.

Anonymous said...

I once 'accidentally' made a meter maid comment while walking by a meter maid once in Queen Anne.

I'm pretty sure I was followed, the maid hoping to see and find some license plates to add to the shit list.

SeattleTimes had a story where they are equipping meter maid vehicles with cameras to catch long-term parkers in zone parking and residential parking areas without meters.

Revenue FTW!

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