all 26 comments

[–][deleted]  (14 children)


    [–]ohceedee[S] 5 points6 points  (13 children)

    Thank you for your response!

    The violation is actually 21211 (B) CVC , which lists as Bike Path/Lane Parking. It would be impossible to be completely out of the bike lane in almost every type of car. I asked him about this and also pointed this out. That is when he told me that you legally cannot park next to a bike lane with a solid white line no matter what.

    Edit: Looking at your link it doesn't seem like this violation is anywhere to be found. I took pictures of the website. Unless it is listed somewhere else then there would be absolutely no way for me to know about this law.

    [–]yoduh4077Alum Rock 4 points5 points  (0 children)

    At very least, you should consider bringing this up with your lot manager. If he's telling people to park illegally, he should be aware of it.

    [–]sj_poly 5 points6 points  (7 children)

    In my layman reading of the code it says you can not "blocks the normal and reasonable movement of any bicyclist.". So, were you blocking the bike lane in a manner that impeded normal movement of bicyclist? If there was plenty of room then I would contest the ticket. I'm not sure if the courts up here allows it but request a trial by declaration. You get to write out your side of the incident and a judge can rule on it.

    [–]ohceedee[S] 3 points4 points  (6 children)

    Like I said in a previous reply, any car that is parked in that area will be somewhat into the bike lane as well. There isn't enough room to park an entire car there and not have at least some of your car leak over. This is actually what I asked the officer about, if he felt that I was perhaps a little too far over, or if it was something else, and he stated that no car is allowed to park next to a solid white line bike lane. If this is the case then we have around 15 cars that now have absolutely no place to park in that area.

    [–]jonmitz 3 points4 points  (3 children)

    Do you happen to have a picture? Hard to judge without seeing how far into the bike lane the cars are

    [–]ohceedee[S] 2 points3 points  (2 children)

    I am at work right now but I'm sure I can provide one tomorrow (it will be dark when I am home). But again the officer said that it isn't the fact that the car may or may not be inside the line of the bike lane , but cars aren't allowed to park next to a solid line bike lane.

    [–]imbreaststroke 2 points3 points  (1 child)

    So, that picture...

    [–]ohceedee[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

    Was dark when I got home. Just like I said. I will take some more pics tomorrow when you can actually see things.


    I think its a bullshit ticket, but if your car doesn't fit, don't park there.

    I would definitely try to fight it though.

    [–]ohceedee[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    There is nowhere else to park. I would have to move.

    [–]oddist1 3 points4 points  (1 child)

    Here is a link to the actual code CVC 212211, it's part of the California Vehicle Code, not San Jose Parking regs.


    Gotcha. Thank you so much!

    [–]reddRadCambrian Park 2 points3 points  (1 child)


    I was on your side up until this bit of information. There's no excuse for blocking any part of a bike lane.


    I mean I am not disagreeing with you. What I am saying is that more than 10 cars park here every single day and night due to the location telling us that is where we have to park. If I have never lived in an area with a bike lane, there isn't any information on the website, and there isn't any sign posted, and there are signs that list rules about other cars parking there then how would I know?

    Edit: Also, this is a lane for parking, but it isn't wide enough for any sort of vehicle to be parked there and not be a little into the bike lane. I suppose a motorcycle can park there, but there is even a sign that says "No Trucks over 6 feet can park here". This is an area where people are supposed to park.

    [–]Spazum 7 points8 points  (1 child)

    Since the lot manager told you to park there, ask them to pay the ticket. Do you have documentation where they gave that instruction, or was it verbal?

    [–]ohceedee[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

    Unfortunately it was verbal. Otherwise I would have for sure already asked. She did note that it was the first time anyone has ever gotten a ticket for this, and the person I live with also confirmed that.

    [–]geoelectric 8 points9 points  (8 children)



    The law itself (posted elsewhere):


    By my read you'd have to be parked completely across the path in an obstructive manner to get this to kick in. Also, any signage around saying you can park would possibly override this.

    FWIW, I live in San Jose and this is the first I've heard this. But I will say we had a round of state laws recently re: bicyclist access and safety so make sure you dig a little more to make sure nothing changed here.

    I'd fight this one. I might also lodge a complaint/request for clarification with the city since I suspect the parking ticket officer is grossly misapplying the law.

    Unfortunately, just to set expectations though, traffic tickets aren't really something you can fight in court; I believe they're handled by a review board. Upshot is that it can be hard to win even a good case.

    The complaint may have more legs, actually. What should actually happen here is a city official clarifying the parking status and posting "no parking" signs if needed.

    You might want to ping /r/legaladvice too. Be prepared for some criticism (happens to everyone) but you might get a good practical answer. /r/askleo might know something about it too.

    [–]imbreaststroke 3 points4 points  (4 children)

    parked completely across the path

    As a cyclist, I'm going to disagree with you. A bike lane is usually around 3 or 4 feet wide. Bikes are roughly 2 feet wide.
    This means a car needs to be less than 2 feet into the bike lane, but would you (while parking your personal car) realize your mirror is in the way? And should bikes disregard the door zone? (The area where a car door swings if opened by someone who may or may not be in the car as the bike is riding by.)

    My comment is not meant to cause an angry argument, just to get some thought flowing.

    [–]ohceedee[S] 1 point2 points  (1 child)

    I doubt anyone else is following this, but I figured I would update you guys as to how the conversation between me and the office went. They had a picture of my car that was a little over the line, which I thought to myself was strange because I usually park very close to the side walk.However the reason I got the ticket was because they thought it was a no parking zone. I showed them the pictures of the signs that said we could park there, and she mentioned that I was still a little over the line. So I went back to the area and checked it out and measured. The parking lane starts out at about 5.5 feet wide (my car is 5.75 feet wide) and starts to get more narrow as the path goes down. At one point the path is about 4 feet wide. This , like I previously said , means that no normal sized car can fit in this area without potentially leaking in the bike lane or even in some cases be mostly in it. I didn't check the size of the bike lane but even it seems pretty narrow. I showed the office the pictures and they even agreed that it needs to be repainted. I filled out a contest and she said I will most likely need a hearing, but oh well, it will be worth it to get everyone's parking spots back. I mentioned that even if I have to pay the ticket then that is fine, but the lines have to be painted over for everyone's safety and for the sake of not getting a ticket every single morning. Unfortunately I have been sleeping at work since in order to avoid getting a parking ticket.

    [–]imbreaststroke 1 point2 points  (0 children)

    Thank you for the reply. Good luck getting the lines repainted and hopefully improved.

    [–]geoelectric 0 points1 point  (1 child)

    Looking at the pictures, there's not really much intrusion there. I do agree a mirror extended across the path is an issue, and should be considered just as much blocking as a car body doing the same. Doesn't seem the be the case here.

    As for the door zone, no, I don't think the bike lane is a free pass to not consider car doors to the right of it. They can and will open into the bike lane briefly--they just shouldn't when a bike is coming. I even have to deal with that as a motorcyclist, so don't really think there's special treatment to be had there.

    What I do know: you don't want to create an either-or between bike lanes and parking in an area as impacted as ours, if they can possibly coexist. Otherwise it won't be the parking that goes away.

    [–]imbreaststroke 1 point2 points  (0 children)

    they just shouldn't when a bike is coming

    Pretty obvious, and people will always claim they look but there's always going to be that time when someone either doesn't care, don't think to check, or didn't check because they are in a rush and "didn't have time to check"

    [–]ohceedee[S] 1 point2 points  (2 children)

    Wow what a great reply. Thank you so much for all of the information and advice. I am for sure going to go speak to court house tomorrow about it. I'm hoping since it's my first offense and the proof that I will bring that hopefully they will at least drop the charges. My main concern is not being able to legally park at the area I live in, so hopefully I will be able to speak to them about that. Thanks again!

    [–]geoelectric 1 point2 points  (1 child)

    I'm sure it's obvious but bring pictures, and include the "view" from approaching the parking spot so any relevant signage is there.

    Fwiw, there are no charges in the sense of even a speeding ticket. This is basically an administrative fine from the city, with the threat being that they ask the DMV to hold your drivers license renewal (I think--might be reg) until you pay the tickets. That's good and bad--bad in the sense that you don't get the same due process.

    Good luck, and please update! I'm very curious.


    Will do! I will be headed there early in the morning, and I hope I don't get another ticket in the morning :(

    [–]Kill_Capitalists 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    Welcome and fuck you very much for moving to SJ. You'll get used to it.