Council bill would let drivers off hook for faded parking signs

June 2, 2016 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle

The sign below is easy enough to read. But the sign on top of it is starting to fade. The signs are located on 18th Avenue in Bensonhurst. Eagle photo by Paula Katinas

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Drivers should always obey parking regulations, but the city should give motorists a break when the parking signs are old, faded or impossible to decipher, according to Councilmember Mark Treyger, who has introduced legislation aimed at clearing up the confusion.

Treyger’s (D-Coney Island-Gravesend-Bensonhurst) said his bill is designed to protect drivers from receiving tickets for failing to observe parking signage that is impossible to read or decipher.

Under the proposed legislation, if a driver is slapped with a ticket for parking in a restricted location where the relevant signage is damaged, worn or improperly installed, the motorist can use the illegibility of the signage as a rightful defense against the summons.

Drivers would need photographic evidence to prove the illegibility of the signage to fight the summons.

“I don’t believe New Yorkers should have to be held financially responsible when the city fails to perform maintenance on parking signs,” Treyger said in a statement. “The idea behind this legislation is to make sure that if New Yorkers are unfairly ticketed for violating a rule they could not have been aware of, they should not have to pay for it.”

Councilmember David Greenfield (D-Borough Park-Midwood-Bensonhurst) said he supports Treyger’s bill.

“Drivers should not be penalized for disobeying rules that could not reasonably be expected to know about. If a parking sign is illegible or obscured from view, tickets should not be issued until the problem is remedied. To do otherwise is absurd,” Greenfield said.