A parking enforcement officer gives a citation on D Street in San Bernardino in 2012. Photo by Grant Hindsley, AP PhotoTens of thousands of low-income Californians lose their vehicles simply because they cannot afford to pay for parking tickets. Cities don’t generate revenue from so-called poverty tows, either. A legislative proposal would reform the practice., a weekly must-read on one of California's most pressing issues.
As a result, the cars are auctioned off. The outcome is that our cities are not only punishing people for being poor, but also taking away their lifeline for climbing out of poverty. Many cities require vehicle owners to pay all their parking ticket debt, snowballing late fees and towing fees before allowing them to retrieve their impounded vehicle from the tow yard. But people who already couldn’t afford to pay their original parking tickets aren’t going to be able to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars in additional charges. In many cases, getting their car back from the tow yard would cost more than the car is worth.