In response to our first installation of Ask Berkeleyside, in which we requested your questions about mysteries around town, we received this comment and query from a reader: “I’d like to report that signs with one-way arrows and the caption ‘No Parking at Any Time’ seem totally ineffectual on narrow streets in the Berkeley hills because, while they do inhibit the residents, non-resident cars and trucks park in them constantly, with impunity. Any advice? By the way, what are the penalties and conditions, if there are any?”
Noel Pinto, parking enforcement manager with the Berkeley Police Department, said via email that the fine for a “No Parking Any Time” violation is $64; on game days the fine is $95.
Pinto wrote: “Narrow street restrictions are in place to ensure that emergency vehicles have unrestricted access when responding to an emergency. The Department’s goal is to enforce these violations consistently. However, more often than not, officers do not find many violations when they drive by regularly.”
Pinto said officers tend to spend more time in neighborhoods where violations are “rampant.”
“Typically, the narrow street violations are enforced after a citizen calls the parking enforcement office to report the violation/s. It is the department’s intent to enforce the regulations as effectively as possible with the resources available on any given day.”
Pinto said residents can report these violations to the enforcement office Monday through Friday during business hours by phone, at 510-981-5890, or by calling the Berkeley Police dispatcher, 510-981-5900, during non-business hours, holidays and weekends.
If you see a mysterious sight around the city, or have a question you’d like Berkeleyside to dig into, please don’t hesitate to let us know via email at tips@berkeleyside.com.
