Opinion: Stop punishing poor people who can’t pay parking tickets
“Not being able to renew a vehicle’s registration or even having your car towed because of unpaid parking tickets happens frequently enough to low-income people that it has a name: poverty tows. Currently, an individual’s vehicle registration renewal can be held after just one unpaid parking ticket and a car can be towed due to five unpaid parking tickets. If someone is already struggling to afford basic needs — like gas, rent, food, utilities and clothes for their kids — their car is literally a lifeline. The same is true for survivors of intimate partner violence, low-income seniors trying to keep doctor’s appointments and any low-wage worker dependent on their car.”