To recap: The city of Los Angeles has a pilot program in place through June 30, 2006, that allows Prius owners to park free at L.A. City meters. ALL OTHER RESTRICTIONS APPLY, such as two-hour limits, no parking during certain hours for street cleaning, etc.
The L.A. Dept. of Transportation website specifies that eligible cars must have a DMV "clean air vehicle" sticker, issued by the California DMV. However, hybrids such as the Prius don't qualify for such stickers. So Prius owners are stuck in a Catch-22 of qualifying for the free parking program but NOT qualifying for the sticker.
I brought this matter to the attention of the LADOT and they wrote back: "Hybrid vehicles are not required to display the Clean Air Vehicles decal from DMV."
I replied, asking, "Does this mean that I can just park my Prius with no sticker, no decal of any sort, and not have to put money in the meter, and I won't get a ticket?"
LADOT wrote back: "Yes, that is correct. LADOT Traffic Officers have been trained not to site [SIC] Hybrid Vehicles parked at metered parking spaces in the City of Los Angeles, as long as you adhere to all the other parking restrictions at that location."
So...there you have it.
Naturally, I can't take responsibility if you get a ticket from a parking enforcement person who wasn't properly trained or who doesn't recognize that the Prius is a hybrid. I'm not an attorney, nor do I work for or speak for the LADOT. I'm just passing on what the LADOT wrote to me. You can bet that I've printed out the email and will be carrying it in the glove box!
Jan
The L.A. Dept. of Transportation website specifies that eligible cars must have a DMV "clean air vehicle" sticker, issued by the California DMV. However, hybrids such as the Prius don't qualify for such stickers. So Prius owners are stuck in a Catch-22 of qualifying for the free parking program but NOT qualifying for the sticker.
I brought this matter to the attention of the LADOT and they wrote back: "Hybrid vehicles are not required to display the Clean Air Vehicles decal from DMV."
I replied, asking, "Does this mean that I can just park my Prius with no sticker, no decal of any sort, and not have to put money in the meter, and I won't get a ticket?"
LADOT wrote back: "Yes, that is correct. LADOT Traffic Officers have been trained not to site [SIC] Hybrid Vehicles parked at metered parking spaces in the City of Los Angeles, as long as you adhere to all the other parking restrictions at that location."
So...there you have it.
Naturally, I can't take responsibility if you get a ticket from a parking enforcement person who wasn't properly trained or who doesn't recognize that the Prius is a hybrid. I'm not an attorney, nor do I work for or speak for the LADOT. I'm just passing on what the LADOT wrote to me. You can bet that I've printed out the email and will be carrying it in the glove box!
Jan
