Why is it considered a criminal act to park your car at a Washington State Park? (Vancouver: 2015, buy)

[new_to_seattle]

I called and talked to someone else last week.
Apparently who you talk to makes a big difference there.
She was very nice and understanding of the frustation with the suspension letter they send (unlike poe & freedbird).

She let me pay for a discovery pass and would try take care of the ticket.
I'm not sure how they would have suspended my license since it was out of state.
Probably prevent me from getting a WA license.
So as far as I'm concerned the issue put to bed.

Originally Posted by Inkpoe

I wasn't talking about the Discovery Pass at that point. I referring to the OP saying the Seattle DT ridiculous parking ticketing issue being understandable due to "limited parking".

"Limited parking" wasn't why the State started doing Discovery Pass/charging 10$ a day for parking-- so it was moot to his/her point. S/he was just whining for the sake of whining.

I was referring to your complaining about parking downtown, where parking there can be limited, unlike the state parks I have been to.

Originally Posted by Freebird2007

Yeah, how gawdy would that look....a sign in front of every parking space....whats that, like 100 signs to go up? Not to mention the cost of doing so.


Welcome to Seattle.....

You have never seen a handicapped parking space? They have both the parking space marked in blue and a sign in front of the parking spot. According to you, those would be gawdy.

Originally Posted by Creature of the Wheel

I wonder how much money WA has lost after implementing Discovery Pass. Seems to me they make more on ticketing those who don't have it. After reading and hearing about how many people have gotten a ticket, it makes me wonder how I got so lucky with a simple warning letter.

That's interesting because I went to Wallace Park last weekend and there were more cars parked along the road leading to the park then at the park itself. I'm assuming people not wanting to get ticketed or buying a Discovery pass.

Originally Posted by Freebird2007

not to mention, its not a criminal infraction, its a civil infraction.

The ticket carries a suspension for non-payment if you do not pay/resolve it. That results in an arrest for driving with a suspended license if you are stopped. That's a criminal infraction not civil. All for parking at a state park without a pass. Maybe you should actually get a ticket, read and the corresponding letter before you decide its not serious.

Originally Posted by rkcarguy

One of my recent sore spots, is management of departments and re-direction of monies into the states general fund(i.e. bottomless pit). Parks and Rec, Fish and Wildlife, ORV program, and many more have either had their budgets grabbed or have attempted to do so, and drop into the general fund. Then it's the sad song about that department being broke and needing more money to keep it open..enter the "discover pass".
The truth is we've had very little "new" in puget sound when it comes to parks, campgrounds, boat launches, etc etc in the last 30 years, but we've had alot of population growth and therefore larger tax base. Try to get a camping spot on a holiday weekend and let me know how that works out for you. The continued misuse of our tax dollars is obvious.

I wondered if most of this money isn't going to go to pay the salary of people going around writing tickets for not having a discovery pass and not toward the parks itself. Not a good use IMO.

Originally Posted by Freebird2007

I have a business near a state park....even after the implementation, the park is still overflowing with people waiting. Call it privilege for those with money, but it seems that the Discovery Pass has weeded out those who weren't willing to pay and paved way for those who can afford to. Those who couldn't/wouldn't pay were easily replaced with those who could/willing.

I visited 3 parks in the last 2 weeks and I didn't find this to be the case at all.
What I found is empty parking spaces that required a discovery pass and numerous cars parked everywhere else.
The only thing it did was change where people parked IMO.

[beenhereandthere]

I recall, before they put this in, that the Peach Arch Park in Blaine, on nice days, was usually 1/2 full with cars and always had at least one or two cars in it, during the hours it was open.
Now, you only see a few cars on nice days and most people, will just walk the extra block or two and park on the street.
Discovery Pass, terrible idea.

[Creature of the Wheel]

Originally Posted by new_to_seattle

That's interesting because I went to Wallace Park last weekend and there were more cars parked along the road leading to the park then at the park itself. I'm assuming people not wanting to get ticketed or buying a Discovery pass.

Bingo!

Each time I drive by Beacon Rock, the parking area is packed. That is due to most of the sides of Highway 14 being a No Parking Zone for some distance leading up to it, and the fact you can't safely park on the side of the road. Beacon Rock is a Discovery Pass area. While driving by, I almost always see the ranger on duty writing tickets to vehicles/drivers that are parked there without the stupid pass.

[HandsUpThumbsDown]

How do you say "cheap" in Washingtonian?

[jm31828]

This is not directed at the OP, but at others I have heard complaining about the discover pass. Those same people would balk and scream if taxes were raised to continue funding state parks, and yet when the budget gets crunched, the state decides to allow those of us that use the parks to pay $30 for a discover pass instead of raising taxes to continue the funding, those same people complain and moan that they can no longer go to the state parks for free. Can't have it both ways!

[forevergreengirl]

Originally Posted by new_to_seattle

I parked my car at one of Washington's State Park on Saturday night around 7:30 pm.
The parking lot was completely empty, save for 2 or 3 cars.
This was St. Edwards State Park in Kenmore.
I wanted to go for a small hike with my dog, for about an hour.
When I got back, I had a parking ticket.

I had to have a discover pass. I had never heard of a discover pass before.
Obviously, who ever ticketed me, knew this, since I have an out of state license state.
I had no idea where to buy one.
To be quite frank, I didn't know I needed a parking permit to park my car or I wouldn't not have parked there.
It's not very clear where I drove up, that this was illegal parking.
I can understand parking permits, where there is limited parking, but this was a virtually empty parking lot.
A couple of weeks later, I got a ticket for a $100 in the mail and my driver's license was being revoked.

Why is it a crime to park your car at a Washington state park?
I've visited state parks in half a dozen states.
This is the only one that makes it a crime to park your car at the park.
Obviously, I will not be visiting anymore state parks here, since it is considered criminal act to park your car there.

Because here you will get ticketed for just about anything.

[sean98125]

You moved to Washington in January and you still have out-of-state plates? If you'd registered your car like you are legally required to, you would have been given the option to buy a Discover Pass right then. You also would have learned that Discover Passes or daily parking permits are required in any state park, as you would have if you'd read the signs on the way into St. Edwards.

Why are you so opposed for paying for an amenity that you use? We have a great state park system in this state. But due to the budget crunch the parks system is going to have to be self-supporting in a few years.

[Letterhead]

Originally Posted by PS90

IMO, the Discovery Pass is ridiculous. Now, I understand the need to make up for lost revenue for the State Park Service, and, being an avid "park-goer", I bought one as soon as the requirement was instituted. I used it at least thirty times at multiple parks without a problem.

However, I went on a long walk on the "loop trail" here in Wenatchee, and parked at Confluence State Park, thinking that my Discover Pass was good enough to park there without a problem. Now, as everyone has probably guessed, I came back to find a $10 ticket on my car, even though the Discovery Pass was clearly visible. Of course (also due to budget cuts, I assume) the Ranger Station was abandoned, and I certainly was NOT simply going to drop-off $10 that I shouldn't have owed. So, after at least an hour of getting the run-around by state "officials" via the phone number on the Ranger Station, I left the park without paying. Unsurprisingly, I received a ticket in the mail for $99 for which I am now contesting, and will have to spend a half-day out of work and my life to clear this up.

There are only two options for why I received this ticket: the Park Ranger was totally untrained and/or just an idiot, or there is some kind of "conspiracy" among Parks employees due to the failure of the Discover Pass initiative - in other words, employees are ticketing people (who are legally parked) in hopes that those people would rather just pay the $10, rather than go to the hassle of going to court over the whole ordeal. The extra fraudulent income could be the difference between lay-offs or not, after all. Okay, personally, I doubt the whole conspiracy idea, but who knows?...

All I know is that the Park Service in WA will never get another dime from me - I will never buy a Discover Pass again, and I will stop giving the donations on my car's annual registration.

Sorry, rant over. Just something to keep in the back of your mind - it is apparent that the some of the current Park Rangers in WA State aren't on the same level as the ones of a few years ago when job security wasn't an issue. All the good ones probably moved to Idaho...

Hope you took a pic of the ticket under your windshield wiper with the Discovery Pass also visible in the pic.

[PS90]

Originally Posted by Letterhead

Hope you took a pic of the ticket under your windshield wiper with the Discovery Pass also visible in the pic.

That probably would have been smart, huh? No, I'm not one of those people that carries a camera and/or phone everywhere I go. I guess it's 'cuz I'm old.

Anyway, the ranger who issued the ticket clearly states that I had a "pass" hanging from my mirror, but for some reason, he seemed to think that my pass was a Fish and Wildlife pass, not a Discover Pass. And maybe it is a fish and wildlife pass, but I asked for a Discovery Pass when I bought it, and it states on the pass that it is valid on "State Park Lands".

Honestly, the whole thing has been a big pain in my a--. That's why I will never buy a Discover Pass again.

[Freebird2007]

Originally Posted by beenhereandthere

I recall, before they put this in, that the Peach Arch Park in Blaine, on nice days, was usually 1/2 full with cars and always had at least one or two cars in it, during the hours it was open.
Now, you only see a few cars on nice days and most people, will just walk the extra block or two and park on the street.
Discovery Pass, terrible idea.

you can still park there without a pass, $10.