Mar 25, 2009 9:32 pm US/Central
Parking Meter Woes: City, Operator Promise A Fix
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
There's a growing rebellion on the streets of Chicago. Anger over higher parking rates and broken meters is helping fuel it. Frustrated viewers have been flooding us with e mails. CBS 2's Dana Kozlov found more evidence there could be a real problem.
If you want proof that people are disgusted with the new parking meter rates, this might be it - almost an entire city block with meter windows painted black. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.
Valerie Coleman is just one of dozens of viewers who sent us meter outrage e-mails.
"I've got two parking tickets issued at meters in spite of a note on the meter saying that it was inoperable," Coleman said.
Coleman works in retail and says the eight quarter-plus an hour meters are keeping shoppers away.
And parking tickets - issued at broken ones - are pushing people over the edge.
"It's more than nickels and dimes, and you hear people every day expressing their frustration," Coleman said.
And drivers say there's more to their meter misery.
"And even if you put in eight quarters, the meters run fast. They do not give you a full two hours," said Lisa Libassi
The
drain on her pocketbook prompted Libassi to e-mail us. But overly eager meter maids are another concern.
"One time when there was a parking meter lady writing a ticket for me when there was two minutes still literally on my meter," Libassi said.
It's all apparently driving people away from using meters - considering all the vacant ones around town.
CBS 2's Dana Kozlov can personally attest to the vacant meter syndrome. She gets her hair cut in the area and says she would usually thank her lucky stars for a spot. But for the second day in a row, CBS 2 had no problem finding a whole block of empty meters.
Could that mean lost revenue for both
LAZ and for the city? And if so, it begs the question, was meter privatization worth it?
"I'm angry and upset about it. Unfortunately, the city probably isn't going to do anything about it because it just seems like they just don't care," Libassi said.
LAZ parking's chief operating officer Mike Kuziak said that the company is concerned about problems and broken meters, and is ramping up staff to try and address issues. The city is also sending out its mechanics and will bill LAZ.
As for tickets at broken meters, Kuziak says that's really not their issue, the city writes the tickets - and angry drivers should follow the adjudication process.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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