run in with the law
Date: June 12, 2007
To: To Whom it May Concern
From: Thomas W. Brand
Subject: Violation Notice 0050541549
On the date of June 6, 2007 I, Thomas Brand, received a Violation Notice at Midway International Airport. Marked on Violation Notice 0050541549 is the violation code 9-64-140(b), which indicates that I was parked in a bus, taxi, or carriage stand. I am contesting this ticket on the grounds that I was not stopped in a common-carrier vehicle stand area. In an effort to remove any uncertainty, the municipal code I am charged with violating is, as posted by American Legal Publishing's online library:
9-64-140 Common-carrier vehicle stops and stands.
(a) The commissioner of transportation is authorized to establish bus stops upon 20-day prior notice to the alderman of the ward in which the bus stop is to be located and, subject to the approval of the city council, is authorized to establish horse-drawn carriage stands, bus stands, taxicab stands and stands for other passenger common-carrier motor vehicles on such public streets and in such number as shall be determined to be of the greatest benefit and convenience to the public, and every such stop or stand shall be designated by appropriate signs or curb markings or both. The commissioner of public works is authorized to determine, upon 20-day prior notice to the alderman of the affected ward, those locations within the central business district, south of the south line of West Kinzie Street between Halsted Street and the Chicago River, and south of the south bank of the Chicago River between West Kinzie Street and Lake Michigan, where the restriction on parking at any such stop sign or stand shall be modified to limit the prohibition on parking of unauthorized vehicles to Mondays through Fridays or Mondays through Saturdays.
(b) It shall be unlawful to stand or park a vehicle, other than the type of vehicle for which the stop or stand is reserved, in violation of signs posted, in any stop or stand described in subsection (a) that has been officially designated by appropriate signs or markings; provided, however, that this provision shall not apply to a vehicle engaged in the expeditious loading or unloading of passengers when such standing does not interfere with any bus, horse-drawn carriage or taxicab waiting to enter or about to enter such zone.
(Added Coun. J. 7-12-90, p. 18634; Amend Coun. J. 9-11-91, p. 5008; Amend Coun. J. 12-11-91, p. 10832)
And 'common-carrier' is defined at law.com as:
common carrier
n. an individual, a company or a public utility (like municipal buses) which is in the regular business of transporting people and/or freight. This is distinguished from a private carrier, which only transports occasionally or as a one-time-only event.
I have included three(3) photographs which show the signs which seem to me to distinguish common-carrier from a private carrier (in this case, me). The first and second photos show business related transportation being directed to alternate lanes of traffic. The second photo also indicates, left of center, that the taxi staging area is the inside lanes. The third photo shows the area I stopped, where there are no signs indicating a common-carrier staging area, and a taxi and two buses can be seen in the background, both on interior lanes, which where previously indicated (in photos one and two) for their express usage. Therefore, according to municipal code 9-64-140 and the photographs I have included, I can only conclude that I was not stopped in a bus, taxi or carriage stand area, and that this ticket was given erroneously.
Attachments: Photographs labeled; One, Two, Three
Thomas W. Brand - Driver William R. Brand - Vehicle Owner
(for those of you who might read this, i have the photos, i'm just not posting them.)
To: To Whom it May Concern
From: Thomas W. Brand
Subject: Violation Notice 0050541549
On the date of June 6, 2007 I, Thomas Brand, received a Violation Notice at Midway International Airport. Marked on Violation Notice 0050541549 is the violation code 9-64-140(b), which indicates that I was parked in a bus, taxi, or carriage stand. I am contesting this ticket on the grounds that I was not stopped in a common-carrier vehicle stand area. In an effort to remove any uncertainty, the municipal code I am charged with violating is, as posted by American Legal Publishing's online library:
9-64-140 Common-carrier vehicle stops and stands.
(a) The commissioner of transportation is authorized to establish bus stops upon 20-day prior notice to the alderman of the ward in which the bus stop is to be located and, subject to the approval of the city council, is authorized to establish horse-drawn carriage stands, bus stands, taxicab stands and stands for other passenger common-carrier motor vehicles on such public streets and in such number as shall be determined to be of the greatest benefit and convenience to the public, and every such stop or stand shall be designated by appropriate signs or curb markings or both. The commissioner of public works is authorized to determine, upon 20-day prior notice to the alderman of the affected ward, those locations within the central business district, south of the south line of West Kinzie Street between Halsted Street and the Chicago River, and south of the south bank of the Chicago River between West Kinzie Street and Lake Michigan, where the restriction on parking at any such stop sign or stand shall be modified to limit the prohibition on parking of unauthorized vehicles to Mondays through Fridays or Mondays through Saturdays.
(b) It shall be unlawful to stand or park a vehicle, other than the type of vehicle for which the stop or stand is reserved, in violation of signs posted, in any stop or stand described in subsection (a) that has been officially designated by appropriate signs or markings; provided, however, that this provision shall not apply to a vehicle engaged in the expeditious loading or unloading of passengers when such standing does not interfere with any bus, horse-drawn carriage or taxicab waiting to enter or about to enter such zone.
(Added Coun. J. 7-12-90, p. 18634; Amend Coun. J. 9-11-91, p. 5008; Amend Coun. J. 12-11-91, p. 10832)
And 'common-carrier' is defined at law.com as:
common carrier
n. an individual, a company or a public utility (like municipal buses) which is in the regular business of transporting people and/or freight. This is distinguished from a private carrier, which only transports occasionally or as a one-time-only event.
I have included three(3) photographs which show the signs which seem to me to distinguish common-carrier from a private carrier (in this case, me). The first and second photos show business related transportation being directed to alternate lanes of traffic. The second photo also indicates, left of center, that the taxi staging area is the inside lanes. The third photo shows the area I stopped, where there are no signs indicating a common-carrier staging area, and a taxi and two buses can be seen in the background, both on interior lanes, which where previously indicated (in photos one and two) for their express usage. Therefore, according to municipal code 9-64-140 and the photographs I have included, I can only conclude that I was not stopped in a bus, taxi or carriage stand area, and that this ticket was given erroneously.
Attachments: Photographs labeled; One, Two, Three
Thomas W. Brand - Driver William R. Brand - Vehicle Owner
(for those of you who might read this, i have the photos, i'm just not posting them.)