Next time you find that dreaded pink envelope on your windshield, just think of it this way—you’re helping the city get that much closer to closing its budget gap. Sure, the average parking ticket is only about $40, but according to Parking Program Manager Marlin Granlund, the city has issued a whole lot of ’em. In 2010, they wrote 56,496 citations (if it weren’t for the tourists nabbing some of those, we could say that’s almost one ticket per resident) and collected on 49,194 of them, bringing in a total of $2,355,530 for the depleted city coffers. Perhaps out of concern for their own wallets, drivers seem to be toeing the line better this year than last: Granlund reports that 17 percent fewer tickets were issued this January than last January, and 15 percent fewer this February than last February. In total, they’ve written 6,587 citations so far this year.
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