Chicago parking meters: Richard Daley's administration says it's working to correct problems - Widespread glitches reported after dramatic increase in

Chicago parking meters: Richard Daley's administration says it's working to correct problems - Widespread glitches reported after dramatic increase in rates
By Dan Mihalopoulos
Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune
April 1, 2009
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-parking-meters-01apr01,0,3725412.story


Mayor Richard Daley trotted out his top aide Tuesday to try to assure the public that officials are doing all they can to correct the "simply unacceptable" work of Chicago's new private parking meter company.

The hastily called afternoon news conference featuring Daley chief of staff Paul Volpe came almost two weeks after the Tribune reported widespread problems with parking meters since the city sharply raised rates and turned over control to Chicago Parking Meters LLC for a $1.2 billion payment.

The Tribune story revealed outdated fee and violation-enforcement information still posted on many meters, meters that charged the wrong hourly rates, a surge in broken meters and stepped-up ticket writing for violations.

But Volpe said the private company has made great progress in the last two weeks.

Dennis Pedrelli, chief executive officer of Chicago Parking Meters, joined Volpe at the news conference and acknowledged "some operational challenges" after the privatization deal closed Feb. 13.

"We regret any issues that occurred," Pedrelli said. "We are working as quickly as possible to address those issues."

In what he described as "a little bit of a misstep," Pedrelli said his company was surprised by the demands of the takeover and did not hire as many coin collectors as the job demands. He said the firm has responded by adding 60 employees.

The company will stop writing tickets while it deals with the problems, officials said Tuesday. But police and other city workers will continue to write tickets.

All revenue from violations still goes to the city's coffers.

If you park at a broken meter, Volpe said, you should report the malfunction within 24 hours at 877-242-7901 or 312-744-PARK to avoid having to pay tickets.

The problems followed a dramatic increase in meter rates this year that sent motorists searching for quarters and resulted in merchants complaining the new parking regulations have hurt business.

Under the deal, which the City Council approved by a 40-5 vote in December, neighborhood spots that used to cost a quarter an hour now run $1, and will increase to $2 an hour by 2013.

The top meter rates in the Loop will go from $3 an hour to $6.50 within five years.

Much of the money from the private operator is helping the Daley administration deal with declining tax revenue.

dmihalopoulos@tribune.com