Parking Tickets at Fireworks Show
We had looked forward to being guests of Wisk and The Times at the fireworks show (July 31) at Mile Square Park in Fountain Valley, both to culminate my 50th birthday weekend and to wish Orange County a happy Centennial.
We arrived ahead of show time with plenty of light to see that the side streets were posted with temporary no-parking signs so we parked on Euclid Street just south of Edinger Avenue, adjacent to the park, along with hundreds of other park visitors.
After a pleasant hour of strolling around the park, watching the various waterfowl on the small lake and selecting the perfect spot for some multiple-exposure photographs of the fireworks, my husband returned to the car to find a Fountain Valley police officer writing $32 tickets. She agreed that she could see no signs posted in this area and felt badly about having to write the citations but had been ordered to do so by her department.
Really, now, Fountain Valley. Is it greed and avarice to charge each carload of park visitors $32 in order to enjoy the Centennial kickoff show, or is it simply lousy public relations? A pancake breakfast or a 10K run is a much more agreeable way to raise money.
While the fireworks were dazzling, the city of Fountain Valley’s treatment of visitors was a fizzle and a dud. And, no, we do not intend to pay the citation.
ANN PERALTA
Santa Ana
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