PITTSBURGH — An 11 Investigates Exclusive is looking at ticket trouble in Pittsburgh.
A man tells Chief Investigator Rick Earle that he pulled over to drop off a friend at work and he got a ticket in the mail for stopping in a “No Stopping” zone. In fact, he got three of them for stopping three consecutive days. He tells Channel 11 that there is more to the story.
Earle: October eighth, ninth and tenth, three days in a row. How much are they? $55 a piece.
Vincenzo Perrelli got three parking tickets in the mail for stopping here along First Avenue Downtown to drop off a friend at work.
Perrelli: I don’t think it’s right that they ticket you for… so if you drop them off and the lady told me it’s 60 seconds that they ticket you in, so by the time somebody drops you off and you hug each other, say goodbye and you get a 55 dollar ticket. it aint worth it.
Perrelli was captured stopping on First Avenue by one of the new surveillance cameras the city has installed on utility poles.
He says the citation accused him of “no stopping,” but he claims the sign only says no parking. His ticket shows a picture of that sign.
Channel 11 went to First Avenue and verified there’s only a “No Parking” sign.
Earle: If they don’t want you to stop, they should put “No Stopping’ signs up.
Perrelli: Yes, it just says, “No parking.”
Earle: You weren’t parked?
Perrelli: Nope. So, legally that’ two different things
Chief Investigator Rick Earle has broken several stories about questionable parking tickets.
Perrelli tells Channel 11 he pulled over on First Avenue and the sign clearly said “No Parking,” but he didn’t park. He just stopped for a few minutes to drop off a friend and was ticketed anyway.
He said you can still see his brake lights on in the picture on the citation.
Channel 11 also discovered that the sign behind where he parked says no parking as well…but just below it is a much smaller sign that indicates “Photo enforcement, No Parking, No stopping.”
Perrelli says he didn’t park by that sign and didn’t see it.
Channel 11 found other similar signs in the next block.
Last summer, 11 Investigates first told you how the authority was using surveillance cameras to watch bike and bus lanes.
The Parking Authority said at the time, drivers had 90 seconds to pull over for drop-offs and pick-ups.
“They can drop someone off. You can get out of the car in 90 seconds,” Parking Authority Executive Director Dave Onorato said.
The authority never told us that cameras would also be watching “No Parking” zones.
As for Perrelli’s tickets, Onorato says they were issued for a “No Parking/No Stopping spot.”
He says, “The proper signage was posted. It’s unfortunate this individual exceeded the grace period.”
But again, 11 Invesitgates discovered the spot where Perrelli stopped was only posted “No Parking.”
The city has signs that indicate “No Parking” and “No Stopping” on the same sign. We found them in other locations.
“I don’t think it’s fair and it needs to stop,” Perrelli said.
Perrelli said he appealed all three citations, but they were upheld.
He still has not paid them, and he said he is considering filing a complaint with a magistrate.
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