@#%#@% Parking Meters

[mythteller]

Owning a car means I must have an opinion about Parking Meters, especially the new ones being installed downtown. Personally, I don't mind the new ones. I find that if you do get a bad parking ticket, you can use your receipt to fight the ticket in court. And the new Meter system is easy to use, so I don't get the fuss about that.

My main beef is that you can't have leftover money in the meter. If you pay for two hours (expires at 7:30pm) and come out to feed the meter at 7:15, it doesn't take into account that you have 15 minutes left from your first deposit (your new payment starts at 7:15 instead of being tacked on at 7:30pm).

This has to be illegal. If you pay $20 for an hour-long service, and at the 45 minute mark you decide to extend it by 30 minutes, they company can't recharge you for the 15 minutes you haven't yet used (which means you are actually get 15 minutes for the price of 30)!

Of course, this would mean I'd have to fight City Hall and they say you can't find City Hall. But maybe an organized meeting, petition, and some legal action might get something accomplished. I'm not trying to abolish Parking Meters, but the should at least operate within the limits of the law.

Here's some info on how the new meters actually work:

Challenge - hacking Montreal's parking meters

Complaints about the New Meters

Comments

[tocityguy.livejournal.com]

I had the same problem when I renewed my Norton Anti-virus product.

The product bugs and bugs and bugs you that the product is about to expire and you should renew it. There is no option to turn the notification off.

I finally gave in, a month early, and newed the service for one year. The only thing was it didn't take into account I still had a month left!

So, I guess I was supposed to wait until the last day, suffer through annoying reminder after annoying reminder, before renewing my anti-virus.

I'll never buy Norton again.

[ashforestwalker.livejournal.com]

I agree with you, but what would end up happen is that City Hall would increase the cost of parking to pay for the reprograming of the parking meters.

HRH.

[jdhobbes.livejournal.com]

Not if you had it categorized as a maintenance cost. They've got a budget for keeping the meters functional.

Besides, if all the meters run on Linux, it would only be a software modification. If they can increase the price of the meter fee (as they did recently), they can also modify how the meters calculate time vs. money deposited.

I wonder if I should consult a lawyer on this.

[silly-imp.livejournal.com]

At least you're allowed to top up your meter. I've been told that in some European cities you're not allowed to top up the meter. When it expires you expected to move your car to a different parking spot. If you just top up the meter, you can get a ticket. How they keep track of all that I've no idea.

[toughlovemuse.livejournal.com]

Theoretically in most cities you're not supposed to top up the meter. In Halifax you're supposed to move your car once the time runs out. Like anyone does that. I'm told the police will put a chalk mark on the tires and the curb so they can tell if you've moved your car or just put more money on the meter. I've never actually seen a car with chalked tires, though, so I have no idea how often they do this.

Parking meters

[(Anonymous)]

You do not need a car in the city center. Cars are needed to go to Ottawa, Quebec city or to run messages in the burbs. I suspect it takes you longer to go downtown in a car AND PARK from NDG than to take a bus. Leave your car back in NDG and you will solve your parking meter problems.

Re: Parking meters

[jdhobbes.livejournal.com]

Of course, that would be better. But the issue isn't what's better for me or better for you. The issue is that the new meters do not run like they have in the past and questionning why that is.

A few people have brought up good points about that (how you're not supposed to be there for more than the alloted time anyways).

You, on the other hand, are stating the unrelated obvious. You're also assuming I don't do that already when the occasion arises. But whether I take the car or I don't, it doesn't change the fact that the parking meters operate in an (possibly) unethical manner.

From Alison

[(Anonymous)]

I was in the habit of parking at the Metro nearest to me (in my case Sauve) and taking the Metro down town. Having learned my way around a wee bit better I now drive all the way into the center. Parking is so expensive and tricky with meteres that I try to use parking lots as often as possible. I get loads of time for a fairly reasonable price, and no tickets.
As for topping up: everwhere I have lived that had parking meters had the by law that you weren't supposed to top up meters and tickets were given out at expired meters and in timed but unmetered zones. Once in University my driving friend parked her car in a one hour zone near our school. We left before our hour was up, and returned later to find the same excellent parking spot available. Yay, right? WRONG. A parking cop had chalked her tire the first time we were there and returned later to see the car back in the same spot and ticketed us. Unfair? Yes sir.
Unless you can get the city to repeal its no topping up rule, you don't have much of a case, sweetie.