Parking Prediciment

I don't drive my car to work very often. I pride myself on it: I can walk, take the bus, or bike when the outside temperature is sensible. But sometimes, the situation works itself in such a way that you have to. I had some errands to run before and after work that I had to drive to, so I did.

Now our campus and city are like many, in that there are various parking limitations, restrictions and rules. Many people in my building park in the 2-hr parking areas, and walk down to their car once or twice a day and check to see if their tires have been marked. If so, they simply move the car to a new spot. When I drive in, I don't like to do this, so I drive the extra block or two away and park in the first legal street without the 2-hr restriction. As I was driving, I noticed the signs that said "No parking Tuesdays from 8-12" and the line below it that said "Valid May - November". Doing the quick calculations in my head and realizing I was ok, I pulled along the snow-covered street and parked my car.

So...8 hours later I walk back to the street I parked on and to where I was expecting my car.
No car.
Maybe it was a block up? Nope...nothing there.
A block back? Did I really remember this wrong?
Nope.
Panic sets in. Did I lock the door? It's a residential street in broad daylight? Who could steal a car without it being seen.
I wander over to the traffic signs checking my months again. Yup, I should have been good.
What could have happened? I inspected the sign for further details. No phone number or instructions in case of being towed.
And then, I remember a story from a friend of mine. Her car had been towed. But, it wasn't towed to an impound lot; they just moved it to a legal spot nearby.
I wandered over to a nearby cafe, figuring that I couldn't have been the first to have had this problem. They hand me a phonebook and even offer me a phone to use. They mention that my memory is correct: most people who are towed have their cars nearby. It would be a matter of simply finding it.
I try to call the Madison Parking people. The recording lists a phone number to call for a towed car. So, I call and get endless rings. Don't they even have an answering machine?

The friend I was meeting after work calls me wondering what had delayed me. I explain what has happened and she kindly offers to drive over and help me look for the car. I accept. So we drive around getting our hopes up at anything that vaguely resembles my car only to have our hopes dashed when it isn't the right car. We finally come up with the idea of calling the local police: at the very least, they'll know who to call.

It was strange while going through this procedure in that I was hoping that the car had been towed. The thought of dealing with a stolen car just seems horrific. When the man at the police dispatch tells me it had been towed, and gave me its location about a quarter of a mile away, I actually breathed a sign of relief.
So, my friend drove me to the car, which was parked safely and legally. I grabbed the $70 dollar towing and violation ticket without reading it, relieved that my car was OK.
It wasn't until I was driving home that I began to wonder what the violation was. I was sure that the sign didn't apply, and I knew that this wasn't a 2-hr parking so. When I got home, I saw what the violation was: parking within 4-feet of a driveway. I think I'll take the bus in tomorrow.