Mourners ticketed

This story appeared today talking about how mourners attending the funeral of the young woman killed in the shooting at Montreal's Dawson College were given parking tickets. I draw your attention to the quote from the Mayor's office.

This is an example of where communicators need to give their bosses a good shake and tell them that a mistake was made and we need to make good on it. Which is a good lesson, because in my book, communications isn't just about spinning whatever your organization does, it's about helping your organization make good decisions in the first place. This was a terrible decision and somebody at the city should have the guts to come out and say so.


Mourners ticketed:

"It's not like we'd gone shopping or something. We were at a funeral, the same funeral the mayor was at and everyone else.

"There was nowhere to park, all the roads were blocked, so we parked where we could."

Ironically, when the street cleaner finally showed up, it was past the no-parking hour -- and it stalled on the corner, according to 18-year-old Matthew Iantosca, whose minivan was ticketed.

At the mayor's office Wednesday, spokesman Darren Becker said there would be no special treatment for mourners who received parking tickets.

By providing several buses for 270 family members and friends to get from the funeral home to the church and, afterward, to the cemetery, the city actually helped prevent traffic and parking problems around the site, he said.

"When you park outside the perimeter that's already established, the city has to apply the rules that are in place," Becker said.

Technorati tags: Montreal, Dawson College, school shooting, communications, PR, spokesperson