The reader wrote:
Nothing in this country can surprise anyone anymore... I have lived in Bolesławiec on Konstytucji 3 Maja Street for several years [...]. There is a lay-by in front of the building where 3 or 4 cars are usually parked. There is no prohibition, although it is a residential zone, and there are no painted parking lines. Since the dawn of time [podkreślenia od redakcji – przyp. „ii”] both we, the residents of our building and the neighboring one, and our visiting guests or services such as internet and television technicians, renovation crews, and so on, have parked here…
Until today… Because I was fined for this dastardly deed. As they say, in my own backyard. After all, I am not endangering either pedestrians or vehicles. A police or municipal police patrol passes through here almost every day, and no one had ever pointed this out—not even by providing information—that it was an offense. All it would take is painting three white lines, and there would be no problem. It is a shame that when someone tried to steal my car from this parking area three years ago, the police did not pay attention. Should the housing cooperative be blamed because someone failed to complete the design?
Really, nothing in this country can surprise anyone.
The reader even took photographs of cars parked in other, often quite absurd, places that apparently do not bother the authorities. “This is what parking looks like on my street and the neighboring street,” the woman writes. “And I do not blame people. Where are we supposed to park?”
A resident of Konstytucji 3 Maja Street was fined for “violating the prohibition on stopping in a residential zone in a place other than a designated one.” “I do not feel guilty of an offense,” she emphasizes. “This is because the lay-by is intended for that purpose. The police claim otherwise, however, because there are no painted lines there.”
She adds: “I am not seeking publicity. This is simply another absurdity for me. I submitted a written appeal against the fine. We will see what the outcome is.”
Indeed, if we considered only the letter of the law, the police would have to be deemed right. But this raises the question: what and whom is the lay-by on Konstytucji 3 Maja Street meant to serve? And why did the site manager not designate parking spaces there? Surely it was not built here merely as decoration...
We will return to this topic. What do our readers think about it? We invite you to join the discussion!