Question for those who live in California

[California]

The difference between a permit and a Parking Ticket is they can tow and impound your vehicle for illegal parking.

BTDT in San Francisco, unfortunately. Long ago when I was a starving student. I parked in front of a stereo store and spent 20 minutes looking around.

Came out and saw the parking lane transforms to a traffic lane at 4pm with rushing high volume traffic, my car gone.

That was a ratty '49 Chev I had bought for $100. Next day I took the Pink Slip (title) to the towing company and gave the car to them.

That was cheaper than paying their towing fee.

 

[ultrarunner]

It is very had to get Law Enforcement remove vehicles from Private Property. It is also hard to get a governmental entity to collect parking ticket fines or enforce penalties on private property. A Private Property owner can call wreckers and tow the vehicle if signage is posted warning if a vehicle is parked without the owners permission it will be towed.

These are vehicles on city streets with no parking during street sweeping once per week… so no sweep because inoperable expired tag cars in the way…

 

[ultrarunner]

BTDT in San Francisco, unfortunately. Long ago when I was a starving student. I parked in front of a stereo store and spent 20 minutes looking around.

Came out and saw the parking lane transforms to a traffic lane at 4pm with rushing high volume traffic, my car gone.

That was a ratty '49 Chev I had bought for $100. Next day I took the Pink Slip (title) to the towing company and gave the car to them.

That was cheaper than paying their towing fee.

You are not the only one…

 

[two_bit_score]

BTDT in San Francisco, unfortunately. Long ago when I was a starving student. I parked in front of a stereo store and spent 20 minutes looking around.

Came out and saw the parking lane transforms to a traffic lane at 4pm with rushing high volume traffic, my car gone.

That was a ratty '49 Chev I had bought for $100. Next day I took the Pink Slip (title) to the towing company and gave the car to them.

That was cheaper than paying their towing fee.

Do you wish you had that car today?

 

[California]

Do you wish you had that car today?

Not really. '49 Chevs back then - 1965 - were typically all worn out at 10 years, 100k miles.

I had bought this cheap from a neighbor when the grinding noise in the transmission had become unbearably loud, and installed a $15 junkyard transmission to get it back in usable condition. I said above it was a $100 car, - just to simplify the post - but I'm not sure I had even that much into it.

At various times I did own cars I was certain would become classics. Most notably a $50 '36 Ford Coupe I bought even before I had a drivers license. Just an old car then, like today buying a Ford Pinto. But beautiful Art Deco styling. Searching today to illustrate this post with a photo, I see this one sold for $65,000.

Parents were outraged I had a car before a license, made me sell it.

Other notable cars I owned: Apparently a 1930's Dodge pickup as viewed from the rear, walked around front and discovered it was a 1930 Chrysler Imperial cut down with its vertical back spliced on perfectly just behind the seat then the Dodge pickup bed beyond that. But it had a minor rod knock and I couldn't afford to make it right, also I doubt it was suitable for freeway speed. Sold it.

My high school hotrod was a '37 Chev coupe with a Chev 265 (the first SBC). Terrorized the neighborhood with that. Then a relative offered me their '50 Olds, excellent condition, the same model CHP had used for their patrol cruisers. Fastest car sold in 1950. Sold the Chev and drove that for several years.

Many more classics. From an English Austin, BSA and AJS motorcycles, various Willys Wagons and Wagoneers, lots more including 2 Volvo PV544's.

Most cars were chosen out of a love for the classics. Cars don't rust in California so the condition of an old one, depends entirely on its maintenance history.

I'm still driving the 1999 Subaru Outback I bought new. It hasn't given me any reason to replace it.

 

[Gator6x4]

These are vehicles on city streets with no parking during street sweeping once per week… so no sweep because inoperable expired tag cars in the way…

I have lived in a number of large cities and towns. I have never lived in one that had or has weekly Street Sweeping.

Weekly Street sweeping, Jeez. And the people of California complain about high taxes.

 

[EddieWalker]

I have lived in a number of large cities and towns. I have never lived in one that had or has weekly Street Sweeping.

Weekly Street sweeping, Jeez. And the people of California complain about high taxes.

Thursday, in Tyler Texas, the street sweeper cleaned up all the leaves in the gutters at the house I was working on.

 

[Gator6x4]

Thursday, in Tyler Texas, the street sweeper cleaned up all the leaves in the gutters at the house I was working on.

Most cities clean up the leaves in the fall. They also get leaves out of the gutters to prevent clogging storm drains and flooding neighborhoods or homes.

 

[ultrarunner]

I have lived in a number of large cities and towns. I have never lived in one that had or has weekly Street Sweeping.

Weekly Street sweeping, Jeez. And the people of California complain about high taxes.

Yep... surcharge for street sweeping right on your mandatory under threat if lien Waste Management Bill...

Downtown weekly... residential.every other week... clean city initiative don't you know.

 

[Gator6x4]

Yep... surcharge for street sweeping right on your mandatory under threat if lien Waste Management Bill...

Downtown weekly... residential.every other week... clean city initiative don't you know.

Oh I know. It costs money to have someone do everything for you up to flushing the commode after each use. One has to pay for what they wanted and got.

 

[ultrarunner]

Oh I know it cost money to have someone do everything for you up to flushing the commode after each use. One has to pay for what they wanted and got.

That's the crux of it... it's not what anyone I know wanted but doesn't matter... too many using the streets for dumping...

I'm still not sure how a city can enforce mandatory garbage with a private company and if the bill is not paid a lien is slapped on your property and every so often a story comes out of a lien sale...

California believes in many mandatory things...

Traffic officer follows street sweeper writing tickets... I've seen cars with many in the windshield so law enforcement is aware vehicle parked in a row away zone..

 

[California]

Most cities clean up the leaves in the fall. They also get leaves out of the gutters to prevent clogging storm drains and flooding neighborhoods or homes.

This is an essential service at leaf season in Sacramento (elevation only 16 ft above sea level) and most everywhere in the dead-flat parts of the Sacramento Valley.

Leaf pickup some places is done with The Claw, a side to side grapple that opens 8 ft wide. Kids of all ages run out to watch it work its way down the street filling a garbage truck surprisingly quickly. Quite a show!

Its well worth paying taxes for this. A lot cheaper than flood cleanup!

Is The Claw used elsewhere?

 

[ultrarunner]

We have vacuum trucks for storm drains and volunteers tending neighborhood storm drains.

I adopted 3 neighborhood city storm drains and in the last 27 years no problems for the city.

Biggest aside from leaves is plastic bags obstructing grates

 

[ericm979]

I've seen the same kind of equipment picking up piles on the street in San Jose. I think the garbage company has a yard debris pick up day each year.

 

[EddieWalker]

I've never heard of or seen "The Claw" before.

 

[California]

I've never heard of or seen "The Claw" before.

Yes this is tractor related!

The photo I linked above was from Modesto.

Here's 20 seconds of a news video.

Lots more Claw vids:

sacramento the claw - Google Search

This one shows the expertise of the operator, that makes them interesting to watch.
[Edit - turn off the sound. Its too distracting from the tractor operation.]

 

[EddieWalker]

Thanks for the video's. Compared to the street sweeper that just takes one guy, and it's just one machine that's a lot faster, and does a cleaner job, It makes me wonder why they are picking them up like that? Union thing to create more jobs by getting two people to do the job that one can do? Tax money being spent so they can raise taxes for more money?

 

[ericm979]

More like the leaves are too thick for a street sweeper.

 

[Oaktree]

Thursday, in Tyler Texas, the street sweeper cleaned up all the leaves in the gutters at the house I was working on.

Had to think about that one for a minute. First thought was wondering how the street sweeper cleaned the gutters on the house. Sure beats getting up on a ladder to do it.

 

[Oaktree]

This is an essential service at leaf season in Sacramento (elevation only 16 ft above sea level) and most everywhere in the dead-flat parts of the Sacramento Valley.

Leaf pickup some places is done with The Claw, a side to side grapple that opens 8 ft wide. Kids of all ages run out to watch it work its way down the street filling a garbage truck surprisingly quickly. Quite a show!

Its well worth paying taxes for this. A lot cheaper than flood cleanup!

Is The Claw used elsewhere?

That's a LOT of leaves/branches!! Are homeowners allowed to just dump leaves from their property in the street like that, or are these all from what overhangs the street? If the former, never heard of that being allowed.