We might find this amusing, if we hadn't ourselves felt so many times the unmatchable pain that one feels when one dashes out of the house, late for work, only to find a $55 red-and-white day ruiner tucked under one's windshield wiper within yards of one's own home. It's violating, really.

Now imagine how that pain must multiply when there isn't even a street sweeper coming through to justify your ticket.

That's what's been happening on Riverside Terrace, a winding little side-street snuggled up to two freeways and an elementary school in Silver Lake, according to resident Silvia Cerna [The Eastsider]. This is her story:

“If the City has the man power to continue to issue tickets for parking violations, they should also comply and have street cleaned as scheduled since it is receiving revenue for a service that is not being provided,” Cerna wrote in an e-mail to the Bureau of Street Services. “This is not the fist time this has happened, and frankly it is very frustrating to have to live in a very dirty street where signs are posted stating the street is cleaned every Friday. “

She lives in the 2600 block of Riverside Terrace, where there are signs indicating a street sweeper will come through every Friday morning. And one has for the last eight years, says Cerna — up until about six weeks ago.

Still, neighbors say parking enforcement officers are making their usual rounds.

To the residents of Riverside Terrace, and probably elsewhere in Silverlake and L.A.: Our deepest condolences. There are few things that sound more crappy than a trash-laden sidewalk and a $55 ticket, all at once. Unless it's one of those $65 devils. (And except for maybe having a government who shuts off your Internet and kidnaps you for torture when you revolt. But close second.)

According to the Eastsider:

Despite several calls and emails to the Bureau of Street Services and the office of Councilman Eric Garcetti, Cerna and her neighbors still don't know what happened to that street sweeper or if it will return. One city worker suggested that budget cuts and furloughs might be responsible for the missing street sweeper but wasn't sure.

Meanwhile, litter has piled up near the storm drains and gutter in the sweeper's absence.

We put in our own call to Public Works as well; apparently there's one single person who would know what's going on, and he “won't be in until later.” Uh… not to jump to conclusions or anything… but maybe that's the problem?

And do let us know if you're a victim of sweepless ticketing, as well. We're here to help.

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