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"Smart" Parking Meters Considered Dumb

Posted by kdawson on from the sometimes-a-coin-is-just-a-coin dept.

theodp writes "The jury's still out on whether Chicago taxpayers were taken to the cleaners by a rushed 75-year lease of the city's metered parking to a Morgan Stanley consortium. But most would probably agree that the new shared Pay Boxes that replaced the city's old parking meters don't exactly live up to their 'Smart' billing. Here's what the redesigned 'user-friendly' parking solution looks like: 1. Park your car. 2. Walk up to 1/2 block to a Pay Box. 3. Wait in line to use it. 4. Use coins or credit cards to purchase parking time — up to $84 for 24-hours (add $50 if you run out of time). 5. Wait for a paper receipt to be printed. 6. Walk up to 1/2 block back to your car. 7. Place the receipt on your dashboard. 8. Head off to your destination, perhaps passing the Pay Box a second time. So before other cities suffer the same fate as Chicago, Portland, and others, is there a 'smarter' way? Some suggest the ParkMagic In-Car Meter, but no new orders are being taken in Chicago. Any other ideas?"

4 of 863 comments (clear)

  1. You mean you have to WALK?! by iron-kurton · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    It must be me, but this story sounds like it was written by a whiny 16-year old who just got his driver's license. You mean, WALK an entire HALF of a block?!? GOD FORBID you stretch your legs out upwards of 20 feet. And then you have to WAIT FOR THE RECEIPT TO BE PRINTED?!?! O-M-G that takes forever, like 20 seconds at least. The world will END in that time...

    DEAL WITH IT!

    --
    Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine -- Robert C. Gallagher
  2. Seattle's meters take credit cards by coryking · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    But they don't take dollar bills--only change. Personally, I think a meter needs to take the whole gamut of payment options (except checks, duh).

    One more incentive to ride your bike to work.

    Indeed. Bike, walk or use public transit. Driving to work is for chumps.

  3. Big deal - in germany we have them for a decade by AlgorithMan · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    is slashdot now a "the government does everything wrong"-whining platform? (go ahead, ask me if I'm new here) - governments around the world make a lot of mistakes, but in germany we have those parking-meters for a decade or so and it's really not such an indescribable imposition as the author of this article suggests...

    so you walk 60 feet to much - big deal, how lazy are you?
    standing in line? never had that!
    $84? I never paid more than EUR8=$11.47! we pay EUR1=$1.43 per hour at most - and you only have to pay for the time between 6am and 8pm at most (usually less)
    on the plus side you don't have to go feed the damn meter every hour...
    $50 extra if you run out of time? that's different from today - how?

    bottom line: you don't need to go crazy about every government decision - some (like this one) are not killing you, believe it or not!

    --
    The MAFIAA is a bunch of mindless jerks who will be the first up against the wall when the revolution comes
  4. Re:There must be a better way by Fred_A · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    How fat or lazy do you have to be, where 15 minutes of walking is neck and neck with genocide on your list?

    Come on.. US people ? Walking ? Hello ? Don't you see a major problem coming ?

    --

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    Made from the freshest electrons.