Chicago taxpayer dollars at work: unused meters

Hundreds of these parking meters running on empty at an installation cost of $500/ea. From www.theexpiredmeter.com.

DEVELOPING: Parking Meter Wasteland

Something doesn’t seem right in the 2nd Ward.

Let me explain.

Back in late October, the city installed 1250 meters in what can only be called a parking dead zone, near the Illinois Medical District.

Allegedly, it had something to do with keeping people from abandoning vehicles or parking for extended periods of time in that area. But, in reality, there’s a school and a church, a few apartment buildings, but no retail businesses around there. In other words, there’s no reason to go there and park your car.

But now, even more meters are being installed in that general area. Hundreds and hundreds of them.

LAZ Parking employees were on the street inserting timing devices into the meter heads when I was there and hoped the meter installation would there by yesterday or today.

The story was brought to my attention by Carol Marin who is doing a story on this and other meter related issues for NBC 5 at 10:00 PM. Parking meters as far as the eye could see, and no cars there to park there. I tried to count them but I lost track after a while.

The city nor representatives from 2nd Ward Alderman Robert Fioretti’s office knew how many meters were being installed.

“You should have seen it before,” says Andy Pierce, a spokesman for Ald. Fioretti’s office. “When the meters went up, the cars stopped parking.”

But when I asked Pierce, why an expensive traffic congestion tool like parking meters, were being installed in large quantities to control a situation that could have been handled less expensively with signs and/or increased police patrols, he said, “Let me say it again, before meters, the area was jammed with cars. Meters changed the commuters behavior.”

The area in question is essentially between Ashland and Wood, and 13th and 15th streets. Generally blocks and blocks of parking meters for a wasteland of vacant lots.

Based on a cost of approximately $500 to install each meter, you’re looking at around a $1 million in hardware and no one to park there and feed the meters.

What kind of return on investment is that?

If the city is footing the bill for this when we already have a multi-million dollar budget hole this is an absolutely irresponsible expense.

If LAZ Parking is footing the bill, aren’t they going to be furious that they have to pay to install hundreds of meters that will NEVER generate income?

Well, maybe in 75 years.

No parking ticket? Sure...how much is it worth to you?

My friend Yoni had an interesting encounter with a PEA (parking enforcement aide) in West Rogers Park last week:

Here is great story. I went to the bakery to buy bread [on Touhy or Devon Avenue]. When I came out there was a traffic cop writing a ticket for not paying the meter. I went over and apologized. She said to me that if I pay her $20, she wouldn't write me the ticket. I told her I didn't have cash. So she said I could write her a check, but I should sit in the car to do this. Then she gave me her name on a piece of paper to to write the check out to her. I was naive and stupid, so I did it. I came home told my father. He immediately drove me to the police station where we filed a claim and canceled the check. Once I got home, a detective called me up and said he is going to pull me out of school next week so I could identify this lady in a lineup. I am really excited, but I am still not sure what she did that was so wrong. She didn't have to give me a ticket?

******************

I replied to Yoni in an email message and told him that agreeing to the bribe and writing a check was not stupid. Actually it was quite clever because now Yoni has a written record of the transaction. I added that if he had taken the ticket to parking court and told the administrative hearing officer the bribe story, (1) he had no proof; and (2) it didn't change the fact that he had not paid the meter. So he would still be out $50. Instead, the $50 is in his pocket, and the crooked PEA will likely be fired.

In terms of the parking ticket itself, PEA's are expected to write a certain number of tickets per hour/per shift. It is not illegal for her to ignore a parking violation (although once she starts a ticket, she must finish it). I explained that it is illegal for her to solicit and/or accept a bribe to ignore a violation.

While living in Rogers Park, I did park legally, for the most part. The neighborhood doesn't seem to be a hotbed of parking enforcement activity except for street cleaning. Violating a street cleaning parking ban, especially in the morning shortly after the ban begins, means an automatic ticket. I hope this PEA's behavior is an aberration and not standard operating procedure.

Chicago parking meter rates to quadruple next year

In justifying the quadrupling of parking meter rates when the City of Chicago hands over parking meter management to a private firm, Hizzoner Da Mare Richard M. Daley insisted that 80 percent of the meters are downtown, and the neighborhoods aren’t really affected. Actually, the Tribune reported, the exact opposite is true—80 percent of the meters are in the neighborhoods. This makes the mayor a Big Fat Liar, horribly misinformed, or just plain stupid. I’ll take the first option for $100, Alex.

My mom made an excellent point: by selling off the city’s resources to private firms, the mayor is mortgaging the future of the city for quick financial gain. His financial management of the city is so miserable we have already endured numerous tax increases during his administration, plus the revenue loss from the sale of the Chicago Skyway, Midway Airport, and now all the parking meters. Future mayors are going to be hunting for fresh revenue sources because this mayor is selling all the revenue sources we currently have.

Great parking spot just asking for trouble

I found a great parking space in Lincoln Park last night, just a block from Mad River, my destination. After depositing my last two quarters, I realized the meter didn’t acknowledge my four bits. So I dutifully called “311” (non-emergency) to report the broken meter. The nice lady took down the location and meter number, and then warned me that I would get a ticket anyway, and that reporting the problem proved that I knew the meter was broken, so I shouldn’t be parking there. (So parking there should be permitted IMHO.) I was out of quarters! Happily, the guy in front of me left right after my phone call ended, and his meter had 42 minutes left. That kept me safe until 8:54, and I prayed the PEA and police wouldn’t bother for the final six minutes. No ticket. Phew.