I M P O R T A N T  N O T I C E

Ordinance No. 415 of the Village of Germantown Hills provides for enforcement of stop signs and designated no-parking areas in the Germantown Crossing shopping center. This notice has been placed on your car by the police because you have violated that ordinance.

The intent of this notice is to inform you of why your illegal parking represents a serious safety hazard, especially to the children of this community. We truly believe that if citizens of our community understand the reasons for the parking restrictions, they will abide by them voluntarily. Good neighbors aren't going to risk other people's safety just to save a few extra steps.

Please read the information below and on the reverse side of this notice to better understand what we are trying to accomplish. We thank you for your cooperation in this important matter.

The Germantown Hills Village Board

Frequently Asked Questions about Parking Restrictions in Germantown Crossing:

Q. Why is parking not permitted in front of stores at Germantown Crossing?

A. The alignment of the entrance road to the shopping center results in traffic passing directly in front of the stores. The traffic lane is also relatively narrow and is a fire lane that must be kept open. When cars are parked in front of the stores, visibility to pedestrians is sometimes blocked, especially for small children who tend to dart out between the cars. After several near misses were observed by residents, store employees, and Village officials, it was obvious that the parking of cars in front of the stores needed to be stopped before someone was hurt or worse.

Q. Isn't the real reason for writing the tickets to make revenue?

A. No it isn't. The only reason that we write parking tickets is to enforce the ordinance. In fact, any money collected by the tickets has been earmarked for park development, not general operations. Our goal is to stop writing tickets when people stop violating the ordinance. If all we wanted to do was collect revenue, we would not be circulating this information to encourage you not to park illegally.

Q. Do the police have a quota of tickets that they must write?

A. There are no quotas. But we have instructed the police to enforce the ordinance aggressively.

Q. If I just run in for a few seconds to pick up or drop something or someone off, or just take a videotape back, will I still be ticketed?

A. Yes. There is no practical way for the police to judge how long you will be blocking the lane, and the presence of a car for even a short time gives the impression to others that illegal parking will be overlooked. So we have instructed the police to ticket all violations. We realize that this might cause a slight inconvenience for some, but because we are concerned about pedestrian safety, we believe it is the correct way to enforce the ordinance.

Q. If someone remains in the car, is it okay to wait in front of the store or in the traffic lane?

A. No. If a car is parked or standing in the restricted areas in front of the stores, it will be ticketed even if occupied. The pedestrian obstruction problem still occurs in this situation.

Q. How can the police write tickets? This is private property, and a private road.

A. There is a state law that permits governments to enter into agreements with private property owners to enforce traffic laws on the private property. The Village of Germantown Hills has such an agreement with the owners of this shopping center, so police can legally write traffic tickets.

Q. Why not just designate a temporary loading zone like I've seen at some other shopping centers?

A. The Village Board has studied this, but has determined that with the narrow traffic lanes and high traffic, a loading zone will not solve the problem.

Q. I've seen trucks park in front of the stores. Why aren't they ticketed?

A. The ordinance permits only three types of trucks to park in the "no-parking" zones: Armored Trucks, Ice Delivery Trucks, and Public or Private Mail or Parcel Delivery Trucks. Any other type of truck will be ticketed.