I got a parking ticket. Is this fair?

I recently visited Oakland and got a $55 parking ticket. In my defense, I didn't see the meter because it was down the block way behind me. It was street parking for crying out loud, and they had one meter for the whole entire street. There was one sign right next to the meter that said to pay. But how would I have seen that? I parked on the very corner and the sign and meter were way behind me. What ever happened to one meter per car? I feel a little bit cheated.