Side A - looks safe.

In an old episode of the TV show “Futurama,” Leela, Fry and Bender – who live in the year 3001 – once toured an historical recreation of 21st century New York City. A tour guide showed them an antique parking regulation sign – which, in its detailed instructions, said “1 hour parking 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.” as well as “No parking anytime.”

“I direct your attention to this ancient and mysterious tablet,” the tour guide said, “which has yet to be deciphered.”

Oh how we laugh at that scene in New York City. We laugh and laugh, until we want to break something.

Side B - oops.

Commuters at the St. George Ferry Terminal found themselves getting $95 tickets for parking near a sign that allows parking – not knowing there’s another sign on the back, forbidding it, according to the Staten Island Advance.

On the front, as cars drive up, a friendly blue sign says “Daily parking $8.00 flat rate 5 a.m. – 11 p.m. except Sundays.” And as long as you park before you pass that sign, you’re fine.

But if you drive past it, you’re now on the side with a red placard that says, “No standing anytime except paid parking permits issued by NYC DOT Bureau of Parking.”

An irate customer posted a video on SIlive.com showing how it works. As the complainant notes, the sign must be confusing, since cars fill up the spaces by it – cars that get ticketed.

Who here is sick of getting hundred-dollar tickets for missing some tiny detail that the city effectively buried behind a blue sign?