Question: I got a parking ticket the other day for backing into my parking space in the parking structure on Pomona Avenue near the Metrolink station. I was in a corner spot where backing out would have required me to make a three-point turn in a blind corner.
Why does Fullerton require head-in parking? It’s a two-way parking structure with perpendicular spaces, so there isn’t a problem with people pulling out the wrong way the way it would be in an angled spot.
The sour grapes in me (the part that had to write the $25 check) says that it’s either a way for Fullerton to get some money through an arbitrary rule, or it’s a way to recoup money lost by not being able to inspect people’s license plate stickers What’s the real reason?
Dave Lieberman
Anaheim
Answer: I checked with Lt. Kevin Hamilton of the Fullerton Police Department. He said historically, the rule was originally designed for parking lots with shrubbery and trees when the wheel base from the rear to the front was longer. Cars would back into spaces and often damage the plants.
Dave Langstaff, traffic engineering analyst for the city, filled in the rest of the information. He said, first of all, parking structures and parking lots should all be posted with “no-backing-in” signs. With this ruling, police will be able to check if rear license plates are registered and legal.
Also, it’s a standard policy to have lot permit tags in the front windows and parking stickers on the back sides of the cars for employees. This prevents motorists from parking in the wrong spaces.
Barbara Giasone
Fullerton News Tribune
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