The kinder, gentler parking enforcers have now returned to ticketing and towing vehicles, but the generosity will continue throughout the year in other ways. The Department of Police and Public Safety is also providing other services to distressed motorists. Police and parking enforcers can help retrieve keys locked in cars, jump-start dead batteries, change a tire and tend to broken windows.

Later this year, when you inevitably get one of those green and white tickets for parking in a fire lane or letting the meter expire, just remember what the parking enforcers might have done for you a few months earlier - or in the future.

It’s reassuring to know there’s someone there who can help you out in those bad situations. This decision is certain to improve the image of the department, even though there will certainly be no shortage of parking fines this year.