'Boot' punishes all for actions of few

I was so disheartened to read the article this morning about the Arlington Heights police being given the green light to employ the "Denver boot."

Is there anyone else out there that thinks perhaps this is a little overkill? City of Good Neighbors, really?

I have recently written to the mayor requesting an increase in street parking time to three hours, as I have had several friends receive tickets after brunching with me or taking pottery classes at Thrown Elements that last for three hours.

I do think that two hours is not enough to really enjoy our town and perhaps a meal after shopping, if that's what we'd like to see to keep our economy growing.

Before the village spends about $7,500 for "boots" and another $40,000 for backup hardware and software, perhaps we could look at more direct ways to deal with the FEW bad neighbors that we have ... maybe towing.

I'm extremely sensitive to the many businesses within our downtown and their need for turnover, but I believe we're discouraging visitors with our tactics.

And on a personal note to Trustee Jensen, I tried to find the ordinance that she was talking about and it took 15 minutes, two women at the Village Hall and about  pages of documents ...

Most people try to follow the rules.  Let's not punish everyone for the actions of a few bad apples.

Bridget Murdoch

Arlington Heights