Parking meter hikes, ticket writing to be delayed in areas

A private contractor that paid $1.15 billion to lease Chicago’s 36,000 parking meters agreed Tuesday to delay price hikes in some areas and stop writing parking tickets to augment city enforcement until it gets a handle on a rash of broken, over-stuffed and mis-marked meters.

At a City Hall news conference with Mayor Daley’s chief of staff, Chicago Parking Meters LLC CEO Dennis Pedrelli acknowledged what angry motorists already know: his company “under-estimated the resources required” to re-program meters to reflect sharply higher rates and make timely collections to make certain meters don’t get jammed.

The difficult transition to private control has prompted Chicago motorists to vent their anger about sky-high parking meter rates tied to the 75-year lease — with a spike in vandalism and a drop-off in on-street parking.

“We regret any issue that has occurred and we acknowledge that some of the issues occurred because we under-estimated the resources the system required,” Pedrelli said.

“We are working as quickly as possible to address those issues so parkers can count on a system that works.”

Chief of Staff Paul Volpe noted that “at any given time, there are a certain number of meters” in need of maintenance. But, the number of jammed and inoperable meters since the Feb. 13 takeover has been “much greater than normal,” he said.

“We know that people have been encountering problems, and they’ve been frustrated. We agree that these mistakes are simply unacceptable,” Volpe said, demanding daily reports on the contractor’s efforts.

After a rough start, Chicago Parking Meters LLC has hired 60 new employees, expanding from six to 14 teams the number hired to collect coins from meters that require motorists to pump 28 quarters in for two hours of downtown parking, Pedrelli said.

The company has also hired additional meter mechanics and reimbursed the city for the salaries of city mechanics. Every single meter is being checked to make certain the proper rates and hours of operation are posted, he said.

As for the parking meter protest that has left open spaces on many normally-busy streets, Volpe initially said the city has “no knowledge of any boycott.” Then, he appeared to change his tune by claiming that, if there is a boycott, it’s the contractor’s headache.

“We received our $1.2 billion up-front payment. If there is a reduction in the use of the system, that is a risk that is borne by” the contractor, Volpe said.

Chicago Sun-Times columnist Carol Marin reported last week that she had observed open meters on Clark Street in Lincoln Park, on Milwaukee Avenue in Wicker Park and on Columbus Drive around the Sheraton Hotel during mid-week, mid-day hours when it would normally be difficult to find a space.

A barrage of angry e-mails only bolstered her contention that the empty spaces signal a backlash to the rate hikes, elimination of free Sunday parking and to the contractor’s decision to issue parking tickets to “supplement” the city’s enforcement efforts.

On Tuesday, Pedrelli disclosed that his company called a temporary halt to its enforcement efforts after 120 tickets. Those tickets will still have to go through the normal administrative adjudication process. But, if motorists believe the meters were broken, jammed or mis-marked, they were urged to contest those tickets.