Parking ticket hotspots

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- "Oh my gosh, I got a ticket," said Terlisa Johnson.

The time on her parking meter expired by just six minutes.

"I didn't expect to be in there that long," she said.

Now she has to pay $25.

"That's gas I could be putting in my car," she added.

She's not alone. Johnson and more than 1,500 others got tickets next to the old courthouse located at 600 East Third last year.

It's the No. 1 place for getting a ticket in uptown Charlotte.

"Once you find a parking space, you try to get in where you can fit in and you want to be closer to the courthouse," Johnson said.

The next spot you're most likely to get a ticket is 800 East Third Street and 700 East Trade Street, just behind the jail.

But it's not just where you park that can increase your chances for getting a ticket, it's when. In the last six months, most tickets were issued at 2 p.m.

Harry Mack is fed up with the whole parking situation.

"It's very frustrating and you decide you just don't want to go uptown," Mack said.

Now after 6 p.m. you're supposed to have free parking along the way and you can never find free parking, but he has no problem finding lots of bagged meters. The city told WCNC they bagged meters near the library because construction down the road forced them to find a temporary place for a CATS stop.

Johnson thinks she has the answer.

"They build some more parking spaces," she said.

And if you're looking for a place to park where you're least likely to get a ticket, try 400 South College.

Below is a map of the top 20 locations where parking tickets were issued in 2007.

> View Larger Map