I recently received a ticket in the mail for running a red light at the intersection of Wilshire Blvd and Whittier Dr., an intersection through which I frequently pass. I was astounded to see that the fine was no less than $465. It is inconceivable to me how the city can charge that much money for such an infraction.
(Photo courtesy of the Beverly Hills Police Department. Please note that while I am on the phone while running the red light, I am clearly in compliance with CA law and using a hands-free device.)Clearly, Beverly Hills, you have little better to do with your budget than install what must be extremely costly equipment capable of providing nothing short of an online video of the indiscretion in question at an intersection whose dominant features include the unused, unsightly and unkempt Robinsons-May building, and the entrance to the Beverly Hilton, which, for some reason, perpetually looks like a construction zone. However, since the city has chosen to do so, it must be making robber-baron profits from the high-tech 1984-esque surveillance equipment. Allow me to provide some suggestions with things you can do with your windfall:
First off, perhaps you could launch a civic investigation into whatever committee plans the bus routes in the city, and why there are often MULTIPLE busses traveling in a row, sometimes as many as three, often empty, needlessly clogging Beverly Hills’ already congested main drags. Or maybe somebody could figure out a way to do away with the invasive, archaic drainage ditches that form a varicose veined web of misery across the flats, wreaking havoc on any low-slung cars that dare traverse then. In what must undoubtedly be a city with some very high property taxes, it would be impressive if you could figure out how to put in a sewer system... Like most other cities across the country have, many that were built before California was even a state.
Or perhaps you could funnel some of that red light ticket boon to improving the decidedly displeasing eyesore confronting people entering Beverly Hills from West Hollywood on Santa Monica Blvd., where a vacant, weed-infested protuberance of median bordered by a rusty chain link fence invites guests into your fair city. Nothing says “Welcome to Beverly Hills” - one of the most fabled municipalities in the nation - like what appears to be a dog fighting arena. When contrasted with the efforts put forth by the city of West Hollywood, with its impeccably manicured median and modern sculpture art (which you have only to turn around to see), this state of affairs is especially pathetic.
But, Beverly Hills, I hear you. Times are tough. California is out of money. I know you desperately need my $465, to, for instance, finance your significant investment in the (aforementioned here) Beverly Hills “Signs Blocking Other Signs” project, like at the intersection of Burton and Doheny, where a large yellow sign reminding one that it is necessary to drive around the median, completely blocks the sign for Doheny Dr. northbound, as it is directly in front of it.
So, Beverly Hills, these are just a few thoughts on the things you can do with the revenue from my and other drivers’ fines from driving through intersections where the yellow light is MARKEDLY shorter than normal. Obviously, all of us victimized by your Orwellian battery of cameras will be more careful about driving through yellow lights in the future, but not everyone passing through Beverly Hills is a millionaire, and I think receiving a slightly smaller fine would certainly have gotten the point across just as well. Now, I'm off to traffic school so as to avoid any insurance surcharges.
Best Regards,
Dear Crabby
really funny.
ReplyDeletei love this.