Originally published Nov. 9, 2005
Seems there is quite a hullabaloo going on in the Quarter and a few other neighborhoods in the city about the recently installed electronic parking meters. You know, the kind that brought parking into the 20th (not 21st) Century by allowing for credit card payments and such? No more fumbling around in your pockets for change or digging underneath your seat to get a few extra minutes. No more buying a 25-cent pack of Big Red just to get some change from an indifferent store owner. Sounds great right?
Not so fast.
According to a recent lawsuit filed against the city the meters were installed without notice or review and violate a law that states tickets can only be issued when a red flag is displayed on the meter. Since the new meters issue printed slips that indicate when time is up, issuing tickets based on those terms is said to be a violation of the law. Perhaps it is. But the real reason the lawsuit has been filed is because people think the new meters are ugly. The “red flag” part is just a device to have the city remove them. No boby really cares about the language of the law, they just want the ugly meters gone.
I happen to love the new meters. They have saved me on quite a few occasions because I almost exclusively carry credit cards and very rarely have two bucks worth of change on hand. They have never malfunctioned on me and I thought they were a step in the right direction. I welcomed them.
I’ll give it to people who oppose them that the meters could be a bit more aesthetic and frankly that’s about the only good thing that can come out of this entire mess – that the company that makes these meters can find a way to make them more aesthetic. Because, if the people who are suing get their way, the meters will be removed and any tickets issued while they were in use will be refunded. That’s just ridiculous and a huge waste of much-needed funds that could go elsewhere (and no, I don’t mean into the hands of crooked politicians).
The city planned for ten years to have these meters installed. God knows at what cost of management, workload, materials, studies and manpower. Also, the machines cost around 7,000 bucks a pop which I don’t think ACS State and Local Solutions is likely to just refund. Then there is also the amount of money that is going to be needed to have these new meters removed. Then there is the amount of money that will be needed to install new meters. I mean new-new meters or, new-old meters, I guess.
Anyways, I’m sure it will add up.
A story written by Mary Foster of the Associated Press and posted on Nola.com on July 20 quoted a man named Chris Sharkey stating that he didn’t think the new meters were that convenient either, mostly because they don’t take bills. While I agree with Sharkey that the new meters should take bills, I disagree with him when he says they aren’t convenient. They are considerably more handy than the old “Cool Hand Luke” style meters we had before. As I stated above, change is not always available so having an extra option is always nice.
Also, the new meters are solar powered and THAT’S cool.
I think what is really at the crux of this whole mess is that the city didn’t ask anyone before installing the meters. At least that is what I am gathering from the language being bandied about in the papers. Like a supervisor that somehow gets skipped in the chain of command, people just want to know what’s going on. I don’t blame them for that.
What I can blame them for is being quick on the draw to fire off a lawsuit that will: 1.) Waste money needed for a myriad of other projects throughout the city. 2.) Reverse ten years of work and planning. 3.) Reduce the number of options myself and other New Orleanians will have at when we are trying to park in the Quarter.
The logical conclusion to this mess will be for the city to attempt to make the new meters more aesthetic. They should do this with the cooperation of the citizens who have voiced concerns about the current meters and then, hopefully, both sides can reach a compromise.
Replacing the meters shouldn’t even be on the table. There are much bigger fish to fry in New Orleans. And everybody can think of at least one I’m sure.