Local lawbreakers had a tough year in 2014, with Durango Police Department issuing more than 5,700 citations for violating 239 different laws.
But according to data yielded by an open records request, the avalanche of citations issued by Durango’s Transit Department last year makes the city’s police force look downright gentle.
In 2014, the Transit Department issued 38,698 citations for various violations of the city’s parking code.
Of those citations, the overwhelming majority – an unsurprising if still eye-popping 32,134 tickets – were issued for expired meters.
The most recent U.S. Census estimates Durango’s population to be just 17,500 – a figure that includes babies, children, and teenagers too young to drive.
Thus the Transit Department issued enough tickets in 2014 for every Durango resident to receive slightly more than two.
By other metrics, the parking division’s vigilance in 2014 seems even more impressive. Consider that – subtracting weekends and national holidays – there were 251 working days in 2014. This means that, on average, Transit issued 154 citations a day.
In addition to tickets for expired meters, the Transit Department issued:
2,799 tickets for parking downtown between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m.
966 tickets for parking in “No Parking Per Sign” zones
610 tickets for parking without a permit
290 tickets for not parking wholly within the space
222 tickets for parking in a loading zone
142 tickets for parking on the sidewalk
99 tickets for parking within 15 feet of a fire hydrant
According to data yielded by the open records request, Transit booted 101 cars in 2014.
cmcallister@durangoherald.com
2014 parking citation data (PDF)
