Parking tickets: CBJ’s way of thanking prospective jurors

CBJ parking rules needlessly penalize citizens for fulfilling their civic duty. Answering a notice to appear for jury selection entails inconveniences and costs. It is a duty of citizenship that most are willing to pay.

While the cost and inconvenience of downtown parking pales compared to lost wages and foregone vacations, it grates like a pebble in one’s shoe. The cost and inconvenience of downtown parking could be easily alleviated at little or no cost to CBJ, tourists, or downtown denizens.

Under an agreement with CBJ, the court issues temporary parking permits to jurors. It does not issue parking permits to prospective jurors. Prospective jurors cannot park on-street in the Downtown Parking Management Zone (DMZ) for more than two hours per day, even if they must remain in the courthouse for more than two hours. They can pay to park in one of CBJ’s off-street parking areas, hunt for scarce street parking in neighboring residential areas, or sneak into the Foodland parking lot. Jurors can park all day in on-street designated two-hour parking areas of the DMZ, if they can find space. Good luck finding on-street parking in the DMZ if the court decides to start at 11 a.m. and your ride is bigger than a two-seat smart car. 

Fortunately, the solution is simple — build a new bazillion-dollar courthouse on Telegraph Hill with pickup truck-friendly underground valet parking for jurors and prospective jurors, or let the court issue temporary parking permits for the Whittier lot to all jurors and prospective jurors. Over seven weeks (mid-July through early September) of near-daily treks to downtown Juneau, I observed, at most, five vehicles parked in the Whittier lot; often, the lot was empty. Ignore this ongoing affront, and risk our thank-you at the ballot box. 

Keith Criddle

Juneau