Yesterday, a BoogieDowner reader took photos of Assemblywoman Vanessa Gibson's car, which was parked in a bike lane on the Grand Concourse near her district office. In the window was a police placard, designed to keep the vehicle ticket-free.

We reached out to Gibson's office for comment and they gave us the following statement:

The bike lane on the Grand Concourse has been a positive addition for a lot of Bronx residents. As you know, there is a serious lack of parking on the Grand Concourse, but I have always respected the bike lane and apologize for blocking it. In this instance, my car was left in the bike lane for a few moments while I was unloading supplies for my district office. I realize that caused some inconvenience and will make every effort to avoid blocking the bike land in the future.

Gibson (pictured) didn't say why she was using a police placard, but Wiley Norvell, the communications director of Transportation Alternatives, a bicycle advocacy group, said it was a clear example of "misuse."

For starters, these police permits aren't intended for elected officials, Norvell said. And even it they were, "there's no permit in the world that lets you park in a bike lane."

By the way, Transportation Alternatives runs a Web site - Uncivil Servants - which allows people to submit photographs of illegally parked cars they've seen and snapped.

[more at: http://www.bronxnewsnetwork.org/2010/04/gibson-apologizes-for-parking-in-bike.html]

[original post at: http://boogiedowner.blogspot.com/2010/04/another-case-of-placard-abuse-by-bronx.html]