ATLANTA (CBS ATLANTA) -
A moving truck driver who had parked his truck in a designated loading zone on Tuesday got a $1,000 ticket.
Driver Clyde Slaton said he parked within the yellow lines of that loading zone, right next to a building's loading dock on Abercrombie Place at West Peachtree. He was helping a client move.
"I parked in what I consider the loading zone," Slaton said.
Slaton isn't the only one who considered it a loading zone. The owners of that building, a company named MidCity Lofts, designated that loading zone for people who move in and out of their condominium building.
"According to the yellow lines, and the way everything is marked, that should be the loading zone," Slaton said.
CBS Atlanta showed a picture of where Slaton's truck was parked to Park Atlanta spokeswoman Valerie Bell-Smith who said, despite the pictures, the ticket is still valid, because the truck was technically parked on the sidewalk.
"We have explained that parking on any portion of the sidewalk for loading/unloading is not allowed," Bell-Smith said. "It presents a hazard to pedestrians and can cause visibility problems for motorists and also can be costly to adjacent property owners if the sidewalk is damaged from the heavy equipment parked there."
Instead, Bell-Smith said, moving truck drivers should park in on-street parking spaces, or MidCity Lofts should apply for a permit for temporary lane closures along the street with a flag person to allow trucks to unload there.
CBS Atlanta News reached out to management at MidCity Lofts but have not heard back.
Meanwhile, Slaton said he will have to pay the ticket himself. Park Atlanta said that he can dispute it if he would like.
Copyright 2012 WGCL-TV (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved
