For decades, parking meters have been in place to indicate a paid parking spot. Signs are posted in legible red on white rectangular signs of any information, assistance, and/or opposition to normal hours of use to these paid parking spots. E.G. - No parking between 4am and 7am daily due to street cleaning. And one knows by the visible presence of that parking meter that he/she must feed that meter to avoid a ticket, unless there are hours stated on that meter in which street parking is otherwise free such as weekends downtown (or they used to be).

This past weekend I took my wife to a little place on Hyde park Square for lunch. We drove down Erie avenue to the Hyde Park Square and pulled into a parking spot. There was a post in front of the spot with no meter on it (nor any other parking spot in view). The only Parking advisory was a sign that forewarned NO PARKING 4am-7am for street cleaning. We got out, and went in. Upon returning to the car there is a $45.00 parking ticket on the windshield. What the heck? No meter, free parking! RIGHT? WRONG! Unbeknownst to us the city had added a new centrally located parking meter that you were to go to and feed. The meter then generated a ticket you would take back and place in your car on the dash in a visible spot for the meter bitch/dick to see. There is no indication on the entire block on either side of the street that a central meter is in place or that paid parking is still in effect.

Of course to contest the ticket I have to go downtown to the justice center, plead not guilty, and request a hearing, or plea my case on line (which I am sure would have even less fricking impact on the outcome) so I am stuck sending in $45 dollars to the city to pay the fine.

BEWARE! IF YOU SEE A PARKING SPOT IN CINCINNATI WHERE A METER ONCE WAS DON'T ASSUME IT IS FREE PARKING!!!! THE DICKS AT CITY HALL AREN'T SEEING FIT TO PROVIDING 411 ON THIS CHANGE AS IT ONLY LINES T HEIR POCKETS WITH MORE MONEY THROUGH FINES FROM PEOPLE WHO WOULD HAVE OTHERWISE HONORED THE PAID PARKING FEE HAD THEY KNOWN OF THE CHANGE.

MERRY CHRISTMAS HYDE PARK - May the fleas of 1000 camels infest you pubic region.