Back in 2005, Mayor White decided he wanted a parking authority, and his right hand voiced the reasons why it was needed:
“You really need an element, an entity, an authority that focuses strictly on parking, on enforcement, on the meters, making sure that they’re all working, responsible for valet zones, cab zones, and enforcements of those ordinances,” said Carol Alvarado, Houston Mayor Pro Tem.
Last week, KPRC-2 Local 2 Investigates publicized a weeks-long investigation of the parking situation around HPD headquarters. The result: HPD employees think rules are for other people:
Parking spaces were often scarce or non-existent for downtown visitors in a five-block area surrounding the 1200 Travis headquarters, as officers and other employees displayed “Official Police Business” or “Police On Duty” signs in their windshields.
“It’s not fair,” said Quentin Thompson, who struggled to find a space to have lunch in the area.
“It’s an abuse of authority, I think,” he said. He was forced to park in a more expensive $8 lot since not a single space was open on Clay Street, one block south of the headquarters high-rise.
Local 2 Investigates recorded license plates and vehicle positions over a three-week time frame, finding entire streets off limits for other public parking on some days. Each day, dozens of HPD employees’ cars remained in the same spot without moving for the entire day.
“No comment, please don’t do this,” said one officer whose pickup truck was a daily fixture, as Local 2 Investigates approached with a camera to ask questions.
Other employees tried some far-fetched tricks to avoid answering questions after word began spreading that news cameras were nearby.
At least three employees walked more than a block out of their way. One officer had unlocked his car, but then rushed away from the camera. One Burglary and Theft Division officer even pretended his car was unfamiliar to him, as he tried to avoid questions about his daily parking routine. He walked a block out of his way, then zig-zagged to jump on a METRO Rail ride to avoid answering questions. He was spotted in his car days later, but he had found a new parking space.
Other employees slammed their doors and sped away without a word as they were questioned.
And what does the city have to say about it?
Mayor Bill White reacted, saying, “People ought to be obeying the policy of the department, period.”
Which is…what, exactly? Well, after Channel 2 confronted HPD, a new memo was sent out explaining the department’s parking policy for employees.
And where, pray tell, has the Houston Parking Authority been all this time? After all, these are metered spaces that could be pulling in revenue for the city:
On some blocks, each of the 17 to 19 spaces were occupied by police employee cars, but those spaces could be generating $1.25 per hour for the city, or even more if cars leave early and new cars arrive.
The Houston Parking Management Division provided records showing the parking meters that are tied up with police employee cars are pulling in a fraction of the revenue that other meters are collecting.
While some meters, which cover an entire side of a street, record 41 transactions or more each day, the meters near HPD headquarters only recorded eight or nine transactions during the entire day from a sample week in April.
Liliana Rambo, the city’s parking management director, issued a written statement.
“We recognize that there needs to be an improvement of the management of the curb space in the area around Police Department Headquarters. We recognize that an alternative solution needs to be developed for the parking of vehicles driven by police personnel. We are working in collaboration with the police department in putting a plan in place to solve this issue.”
She did not address a question e-mailed to her by Local 2 Investigates, inquiring about why her enforcement personnel seem to have stopped patrolling the areas heavily occupied by the police employee cars.
Has she been hanging out with Clarence Bradford?
Recall in the past Ms. Rambo tried to crack down on legitimate handicapped parking, for the purpose of creating “more turnover so that everybody has access to that particular parking space […]” But when it comes to the metered spaces around HPD, she hasn’t been so interested.
