Regarding the recent commentary on city parking (Maine Voices: “Heavy-handed parking enforcement does Portland a disservice,” Aug. 11), heavy-handed enforcement, rude staff and reliance on income from this sorry source point to a real problem for tourists and Maine visitors to Portland.

I have personally been ticketed for a 10-minute overage and just this one experience has caused me to avoid Portland trips when possible. This process is not good city management. It is basically lazy reliance on a source of easy money from tourists and out-of-town visitors. I’d like to thank Bill Lundgren for shining a light on this bad practice. This agency should not be permitted to drag Portland down.

Joseph Hachey
Gorham