He had been fined US$108 ($138 Cdn) for parking in a red zone, a no-parking position marked by a line of red paint on the pavement. But when his wife Desiree initially parked their car in their usual spot, there was no red paint there. In fact, it was clear to the couple that the city had painted the line while their car was parked, as the paint was actually cutting through one of their tires. “It was just weird. You know, we thought it was a prank or something,” Jeff Jolly told As It Happens guest host Helen Mann. “I said… that can’t be right.” But sure, the ticket is the real deal. The city, however, maintains that the spot has always been a red zone and the paint was, in fact, a repaint job. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Authority said in an email to CBC that the city recently painted the curb in response to a service request. A photo, provided by the city, shows the curb before the repair, which appears to show some very faded red paint. This undated image, provided by the city, of the curb before it was repainted shows signs of faded red paint. (San Francisco Municipal Transportation Authority) Jolly insists he and his wife have been using the same spot for 25 years and have never noticed any red paint or signs of a red zone. As working musicians, he says they’ve learned to always pay close attention to parking rules. “In this town, you know to watch where you park,” he said. “There’s no way you’re going to miss this.” ABC7 News, which first reported this story, compared the city’s photo to Google Image images of the street corner in 2011 and 2016, which show a curb that appears completely gray, suggesting the red paint had long since faded. Jeff and Desiree Jolly are San Francisco musicians and say they’ve learned from performing at various venues to pay close attention to street parking markings. (Submitted by Jeff Jolly) The Jollys formally contested the fine, and the city says their protest is pending a formal review. “For this particular case, as the curb was already a red zone but had faded, the employee conducting the review would assess the condition of the previous red zone paint,” spokeswoman Erica Kato said in an email. “If it was significantly faded and inapplicable, then it would not be considered a factor in the review.” Kato says the city will respond to the couple’s complaint within 60 days. “We’ll probably have to pay the ticket and see if we get a refund. But we’re not even going to do that. We’ll just see what happens because it’s so ridiculous,” Jolie said. “I really didn’t think it would go this far. You know, I really thought they were just going to say … we made a mistake and just reverse the ticket because it’s obvious just from the picture.” Jolley says he and his wife were considering leaving the Bay Area for many reasons, including crime and the rising cost of living. They are thinking of moving to the south of France where they often travel to play music. This ticket debacle may be the last straw, he said. Asked if he thinks they paint their roads better in France, he smiled and replied: “I doubt it.” Written by Sheena Goodyear. Interview produced by Aloysius Wong.
