Scientists theorize that electrons ? tiny subatomic particles that orbit the nucleus of an atom ? can exist in two places at once. In Baltimore, this quirky law of physics seems to apply to ticketed automobiles as well.
That?s what Deborah Becker and her husband, Bud, of Catonsville learned after a trip to the city in June that netted two parking tickets ? alleging their car was parked in two places at nearly the same time.
The couple?s parking nightmare began when Deborah Becker took friends to see the grave of legendary writer Edgar Allan Poe in June in West Baltimore Street. Parking her red Chevy Cavalier on the 500 block of the street, Becker said she purchased one hour of meter time from a city parking kiosk. Placing the receipt on her car?s dashboard, she was shocked to discover a parking ticket when she returned to her vehicle30 minutes later.
“I had the proof I had paid for my time,” she said. “It didn?t make any sense.”
But that was just the beginning of the couple?s ticket travails.
Trying to renew the car tags in September, Bud Becker discovered their car had an additional parking citation ? issued five minutes later on the same evening in June by agent “L. Parker,” claiming the vehicle had been illegally parked several blocks away on Green Street. They were both unaware of the ticket.
“When we received the notice, we thought it was for the first ticket,” Bud Becker said.
After a bit of investigating, he realized something was awry.
“I went out and drove it, and there is no way my wife could have gotten in the car, drove to a new space in that amount of time,” he said.
“It?s impossible.”
Letters to the city Department of Transportation went unanswered, and now the couple faces $71 in fines and penalties on the second ticket, as well as a Motor Vehicle Administration flag fee of $30.
“I?ve always been proud of Baltimore; I love the city,” Deborah Becker said, “But now I?m ashamed because I think this is so unfair.”
On Friday, The Examiner reported a similar double-ticketing of city motorist Diane Tomain, a computer analyst who received two tickets for being parked at two locations at the same time. Both tickets also were issued by agent “L. Parker.”
DOT officials have declined to comment further on the numerous claims of bogus tickets uncovered this month by The Examiner, citing an ongoing investigation by the city?s inspector general.
