CHAPALA PARKING TICKETS

Well I won't be going to Chapala any time soon except when I need Spencer and will ask for advice as to where to park first. Wonder what impact this will have on business in Chapala.

May be the impact will be good and people will not park there for the day so other people will be able to go to Chapala get some business done and leave. NOthing wrong with that.

brigitte wrote:May be the impact will be good and people will not park there for the day so other people will be able to go to Chapala get some business done and leave. NOthing wrong with that.

No kidding. Before, people complained about how it was impossible to park in Chapala. Now people will complain about having to pay a little bit to park in a convenient spot that - for this very reason - has suddenly become doable.

People like to complain. Especially people with cars living in a world that has too many people with cars. There's my epiphany. Maybe we should talk about traffic next.

My barber has a shop accross from the bus station....he is a happy camper now. Most of us are not aware of the parking problem, other than there never is parking in Chapala.

My barber says the problem is people living in Chapala park all day on Madero, take the bus to work in GDL, and many times there car is not moved for days.

I don't think it's going to alleviate anything except municipal coffers. There's already a dozen cars for every available spot.

HelperGuy wrote:I don't think it's going to alleviate anything except municipal coffers. There's already a dozen cars for every available spot.

"don't think it's going to alleviate anything".....I disagree....I predict there will be a dozen cars for every two spots.

The meter maid kids have a quote of 50 tickets a day. They literally are hiding and stalking people, the meter company lied and hasn't held up their end of the bargain and city hall is also remiss in their implementation of the law and exemptions for residents.

I am trying to get exemption permits for my employees so they can take the paid spots and leave the free ones open but city hall doesn't have a method for doing it yet even though the law provides for it.

LOL... we'll see.

Husband had business at the Art House yesterday and headed there around 4 pm, parking way west of the big mural. Turns out the Art House was surrounded by cops, fire trucks and one building next door burnt down. Panic at the Art House and the person delivering the goods to them couldn't get through.
Trip in vain, but lots of lookee looing.

Whoever is running this ticket business is on the evildoers list.

I just received a reply from Guadalajara Reporter, and they will follow up with Chapala City Hall on Monday as they are out for the holiday week.

gringal wrote:Husband had business at the Art House yesterday and headed there around 4 pm, parking way west of the big mural. Turns out the Art House was surrounded by cops, fire trucks and one building next door burnt down. Panic at the Art House and the person delivering the goods to them couldn't get through.
Trip in vain, but lots of lookee looing.

Whoever is running this ticket business is on the evildoers list.

Building next door didn't burn down. The hill behind the Art House was on fire.

The person at the Art House said that the nearby building was damaged heavily by the fire, maybe gutted, and yes, the fire was on the hill nearly up to their own building, and until the pumper truck arrived, the outlook was grim because they were trying to use buckets to put out the fire.
....so that's the story my husband heard. Got fire.

good grief! saege lives right across the street from it so she should know "the facts".
back atcha

gringal wrote:The person at the Art House said that the nearby building was damaged heavily by the fire, maybe gutted, and yes, the fire was on the hill nearly up to their own building, and until the pumper truck arrived, the outlook was grim because they were trying to use buckets to put out the fire.
....so that's the story my husband heard. Got fire.

There is a difference between fire damage and burning to the ground! I am sure a couple of the buildings might have had some damage in the back of the buildings. One of the buildings has been being torn down for weeks now. The businesses on that side have been open as normal.

I got a ticket yesterday...200p. Didn't even know what it was for. Parked about 1/2 block west of Santander. Being the good visitor I am I went to the government building to pay 100p (50%). The girl taking the $ told me why I got it. missed the article in the Guadalajara Reporter. Oh we'll...part of the Mexican experience.
Attitude is everything

Well in this article they are claiming that the free parking during the vacation weeks only applied to Avenida Madero, not Hidalgo . All of the newspapers , both in English and Spanish clearly stated otherwise.

http://www.paginaquesiselee.com.mx/index.php/contenido/noticias/13781-a-pagar-estacionamiento

Another interesting tidbit...evidently they have "boots" now and they booted a lot of cars already. The cost to remove the boot is $450.00 plus the $200.00 parking ticket.
It might amuse you to know that one of the boots has already been stolen.

Good one less boot, how many to go ?

I will file papers next week to ask the municipality suspend the concession until they do the cameras and other things they promised in oder to get the concession.

Yes, those cameras are part of what you are paying for when you pay to park there, why should they be able to start collecting without fulfilling their contract?

Chapala only gets 10% the first year and 20% subsquently...seems like Chapala is getting the shitty end of that stick all the way around.

So this from one of the news articles...
...Otros beneficios que otorgarán las empresas son la instalación de 9 cámaras de video vigilancia en donde se encuentren los estacionómetros y un seguro contra daños o robo de vehículos para los usuarios....

Does this suggest that with your paid parking you recieve insurance against theft and damage (kind of like on the quota) or is it implying that the camaras will provide this protection?

Evidently parking is still free from the plaza to Flavio Romero (and beyond), correct?

All of this commotion over a parking fee that amounts to $6MXN/hour or just under $.50USD/hour! Look on the bright side, one of Ajijic's self-proclaimed millionaires has already declared that it is a deal breaker on him coming to Chapala ever again! Since Jim W has already declared that their first ticket has hit the circular file, I have to wonder what the reaction/response will be when they experience their first boot?

Free parking is only good if there is a place to park. Forget parking on Madera! In fact, you can practically forget parking in Chapala at all unless it's down by the park and not on weekends.

I think it implies the cameras will provide protection from theft, vandalism ect.

I hate to be cynical (no I don't) but I think the cameras are a joke. For them to be effective one must trust that: the cameras are all operational and well maintained, there is someone monitoring them 24/7, that someone can't be in cahoots with the thief du jour, then one must believe that if your car gets stolen or vandalized, and it IS recorded, that the police will actually investigate to see if they can identify who that person on video is and actually catch them and arrest them, take them to court, convict them, and incarcerate them.

Am I the only one who thinks the odds of all that happening are about zip? Steal the boots.

I think your odds are overly optimistic.

LOL

Of course the cameras are a joke, just like the ones that have already been purchased. But they were part of this ridiculous bargain just the same.

The local merchants and residents are just all in a tizzy about the whole parking meter thing too and I get that ...actually it is a HUGE issue and that is why the meters on most of Madero are not in operation yet. ...but I really didn't think the average gringo who is an occasional shopper in Chapala would react in such a negative way. I'm surprised they don't see it as a bonus to more available parking...of course , that would be IF there was more available parking...because right now there is not .

The whole thing is screwed up though. They didn't even install meters in the blocks near the bus station where people park their cars all day and then ride the bus to work.
Most people don't even realize that parking is still free, for now at least for most of Av. Madero.

Those boots have 3/4 " steel cable...that was a pretty good trick!

Ms.Thang wrote:I really didn't think the average gringo who is an occasional shopper in Chapala would react in such a negative way.

You underestimate how ridiculous so many of us are.

Re the cameras. I agree completely Trailrunner. I always scratch my head when I hear about people installing expensive video surveillance systems for their homes. Maybe, hopefully, they work as some kind of deterrant. But I wouldn't expect to get much satisfaction if, say after being burgled, I walked into the MP with my video of the criminals and said, "Okay! Here! Go get 'em!!!"

Like I said, hopefully in some instances they work as a deterrant. Ojalá.

What I saw happen when they installed pay to park over by the fountain and along that street was that people simply didn't park there and filled up all the streets a block or so inland making it much more difficult to find a place to park to conduct business in centro and to get water or shop at the mercado. Can't tell you how many times I've set out for the mercado to buy food not found any place to leave my car and gave up. The best way for me to shop the mercado is to take the bus and lug a lot of produce home!

The way I see it, and I may be completely wrong, is the more metered parking they install the more people will park on the free spots on the streets.

I don't think it's about the money either, it's about the hassle. And now meter maids with a quota?!?!?! Gimme a break.