I live in a city, but in a house with a driveway, which makes me extraordinarily blessed in the parking department. Not so much if I lived in Toledo, Ohio, though. Police The mayor’s office there are is handing out tickets to people for parking in their own driveways.
parking
Toledo TIckets Residents For Parking In Their Own Driveways
By 6.16.09
Parking Meter Revolt: Chicagoans Are Vandalizing Parking Meters In Protest!
By 3.25.09
The Chicago parking meter saga continues today with a post from theexpiredmeter.com, a blog about Chicago parking tickets and how to fight them. The post has photos of parking meters being spray painted, destroyed and otherwise defaced. Guess people aren’t too thrilled with paying 28 quarters for 2 hours in the Loop…
Are Chicagoans Rebelling Against The New Parking Meter Regime?
By 3.23.09
The evidence is purely anecdotal, but it seems that some unrest might be brewing in the City of Chicago. Now that the Mayor has leased the city’s parking meters to a company that jacked up the rates, people might be staying home rather than feed the meters — which now take as many as 28 quarters for 2 hours.
Chicago's Privatized Parking Meters Are An Epic Failure
By 3.20.09
The City of Chicago has gone ahead with a deal to lease the city’s parking meters to a company that raised the rates — and the results are reportedly tragic. It now costs 28 quarters to park for two hours in the Loop, which some say is causing the meters to fill up with quarters and break.
Icon Parking Accidentally Reveals Why Their Service Is Cheap
By 3.13.09
Eli Lansey took photos of recent Icon Parking ads on NYC subway cars and posted them on his blog. They promise customers “$10 for up to 10 hours” of parking at various lots in the city. Wow, that’s a good price! On the same ad they have a help wanted section that says they’re looking for employees, “no experience necessary.” Ah.
Oregon To Consider Predatory Towing Ban After Meals-On-Wheels Is Almost Towed During Delivery
By 2.1.09
Remember Andrew? His car was towed from Starbucks while he was inside sipping a latte. He isn’t alone. In mid-August, a predatory tow-truck driver set up shop outside a retirement community and waited for local meals-on-wheels driver Marie Phillippi to leave her car. As she made her deliveries, the tow-truck driver latched on and prepared to tow. He was stopped only when a retiree ran out and splayed herself across the car’s hood until the Marie could return. The tow-truck driver’s actions were entirely legal under Oregon law, although that may soon change…
Hampton Inn Bans Customer For Parking In Their Garage
By 1.11.09
Hampton Inn general manager Jennifer Stahler banned reader Jack from staying at her Inn again because he dared to park his car in the Inn’s garage. Jack wasn’t sure he could park there in the first place, even though there weren’t any signs warning “private” or “employees only,” so after parking, he checked in with Jennifer who told him he was fine and even wrote him a parking slip. The next morning she changed her mind and demanded $38 in valet charges. When Jack reminded her that she never mentioned any fees and had given him a parking slip, she agreed to remove the charges but then explained that he was “no longer welcome to stay.”
Chicago To Lease Parking Meters To A Company That Will Charge $6.50 An Hour?
By 12.3.08
The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that Mayor Richard M. Daley of Chicago is trying to get “quickie” approval for a proposal to privatize the city’s parking meters. Under the 75 year lease, Chicago’s 36,000 parking meters would be controlled by a partnership that includes Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners and LAZ Parking. This partnership will, naturally, raise prices. Critics of the proposal say that charging $6.50 an hour by 2013 to park downtown would hurt local businesses.
UPDATE: Bank Of America Has No Idea Whether It Treats Parking Meter Payments As A Cash Advance
By 7.16.08
Remember our reader who tried to use his Bank of America debit card on a parking meter and was charged a $10 cash advance fee? One of our commenters did a little investigation on our story and got two conflicting responses from Bank of America.
Bank Of America Treats Parking Meter Payments As Cash Advances, Charges $10 Fee
By 6.25.08
Reader Gary used his Bank of America credit card to pay $2 on a parking meter in Washington, DC. Bank of America treated it as a cash advance and slapped him with a $10 fee, as well as a higher APR. When Gary called to complain, he learned that it wasn’t an error: Bank of America has started treating payments to parking meters as cash advances and may even treat all payments to government entities as cash advances.
Circuit City Designates Handicapped Parking Spots "Web Order Pickup" Zone
By 3.30.08
The Vast Majority Of Philadelphia Parking Tickets May Be Invalid
By 3.9.08
A CBS investigation has revealed that parking tickets stemming from 85% of the parking meters in Philadelphia are invalid. Pennsylvania law requires inspectors to certify each parking meter for accuracy once every three years, but the single inspector working for Philly’s Licenses and Inspections Department, the city agency in change of certification, has visited less than 15% of all parking meters—but he has found the time to certify some meters 8 times while others go completely unchecked. As a result, thousands of parking tickets are invalid under state law.
StubHub Releases Names Of 13,000 Ticket Resellers To Patriots
By 10.22.07
The New England Patriots last week received the names of 13,000 people who bought or sold Pats tickets through StubHub. Season ticket holders are rightly concerned that the Pats may now revoke the subscriptions of those who circumvented the Pats’ own Ticketmaster-run system.
This Verizon Van Could Have Parked Closer To The Handicapped Only Sign
By 8.1.07
A 14-year-old tipster caught this Verizon van parked next to the handicapped only sign outside his grandmother’s house. The Verizon tech spent 20 minutes visiting a neighbor, and when asked to move, “was very arrogant and drove off.” More pictures, after the jump.
Parking Garage Rates Are Out Of Control
By 3.13.07
Getting in and out of a downtown garage in 20 minutes is possible — but just barely. A Globe reporter managed a 20-minute turnaround at 75 State St. only by racing from the garage to gulp down a drink at a nearby coffee shop and then racing back.
Yellow Lines Painted Under Parked Car To Give A Ticket
By 10.6.06
You manage to find that perfect parking spot, the road completely unmarked, no signs around anywhere. You happily jump out of your car, glowing with the smug self-satisfaction that can only come from getting one over on City Hall.
Alamo Passes On Charges for Imaginary Parking Tickets
By 8.15.06
When a $60 buck fine was billed to his credit card for a recent Alamo rental, Matt. A was confused: “I thought those suckers told me I didn’t owe them any money when I returned it?”
UPDATE: Talking Points’ Car Stolen
By 7.27.06
After the Central Parking System attendants left the key in the ignition, Talking Points Memo’s Joshua Micah Marshall’s car was stolen. Now the the political blogger is performing a delicate dirty dance with the garage to get them to pay for it.
