Denver boot patrol gives booted bride unwanted wedding gift on no-longer-safe Saturday

Does the City of Denver boot vehicles on weekends? For years, scofflaw drivers felt safe parking their too-many-ticket cars all over town on Saturday and Sunday. But we recently learned from the Department of Public Works that the city will indeed boot cars on Saturdays. And this weekend, a booted...

By Patricia Calhoun

September 19, 2011

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Does the City of Denver boot vehicles on weekends? For years, scofflaw drivers felt safe parking their too-many-ticket cars all over town on Saturday and Sunday. But we recently learned from the Department of Public Works that the city will indeed boot cars on Saturdays. And this weekend, a booted bride got incontrovertible proof of that new policy.

On Saturday, a bride headed to her nuptials in the mountains stopped off at a LoDo salon to have her hair done; a gal pal who was doing chauffeuring/styling duties had borrowed a car big enough to fit the bride, her dress and all the related accessories.

Updo done, they exited the salon -- and made a hair-raising discovery: The borrowed car had been booted.

With no time to spare, the bride found other friends who could transport her to the wedding site, while her chauffeur/stylist got on the phone with authorities -- after delivering an earful to the owner of the clamped vehicle.

Fortunately, the wedding came off without a hitch -- but definitely a boot.

How did this city became the namesake of an infamous immobilization device? Read Patricia Calhoun's "Boot Hill."

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Patricia Calhoun is editor-in-chief of Westword, the alt-weekly she co-founded in September 1977. She’s been inducted into the Colorado Press Association Hall of Fame, the Association of Alternative Newsmedia Hall of Fame and the Colorado Restaurant Association Hall of Fame. She’s also received dozens of local, state and national awards for writing, including first place for feature writing and first place for column writing with the Society of Professional Journalists. Patricia is a weekly commentator on Colorado Inside Out, PBS 12's public affairs roundtable, which has won two Emmys.

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