Parking meter down, still liable?

[vektor]

Pretty basic, I had an important meeting I had to get to at noon and parked my car in a zone where the meter was broken so I couldn't pay. If I get a ticket in the mail is there any way to fight it, the tickets are so damned expensive and it would be ridiculous to have to pay.

[Fozzie_DeBear]

Take a video/photo of the broken meter...

That way you can have a little backup to prove it wasn't working...

[Hockeyguy15]

I doubt you can get off on that one. They will tell you that you could have gone to any of the park plus machines that are in the area, as they are not specific to the zone you parked in. Also there is a pay by text option that you could have set up in advance.

You are probably going to have to pay the ticket.

Edit: Assuming you are talking about downtown Calgary

[Rathji]

If you call right when parking and tell whoever is managing it (Parkplus or wheoever), you wouldn't likely have any troubles getting the ticket cancelled if one did happen.

[Daradon]

If a ticket does come I imagine if you raise enough stink they will drop it. I have had that done for me in the past. Wasn't about a broken meter though, but it was a legitimate problem/mistake on their part.

Course, you gotta be willing to spend the time on the phone, which ain't fun. Might have to work a little hate up too...

[puckluck2]

Originally Posted by Hockeyguy15

I doubt you can get off on that one. They will tell you that you could have gone to any of the park plus machines that are in the area, as they are not specific to the zone you parked in. Also there is a pay by text option that you could have set up in advance.

You are probably going to have to pay the ticket.

Edit: Assuming you are talking about downtown Calgary

You can't pay by text if you don't have a cell phone and they can't prove you do so I doubt they could use that as how you could have paid.

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Originally Posted by Iginla

You can't pay by text if you don't have a cell phone and they can't prove you do so I doubt they could use that as how you could have paid.

Yeah, but the fact that there are a couple hundred machines that presumably are still working today that he could have used, probably means he is boned.

[puckluck2]

Originally Posted by Bring_Back_Shantz

Yeah, but the fact that there are a couple hundred machines that presumably are still working today that he could have used, probably means he is boned.

Well is it reasonable for him to go to another machine if there weren't signs saying the machine was out of order? Not to mention the time wasted for the person because of their error.

[vektor]

Originally Posted by Bring_Back_Shantz

Yeah, but the fact that there are a couple hundred machines that presumably are still working today that he could have used, probably means he is boned.

It was the only parking in the area, there was no where else to go, coulda been a half hour late for a half hour meeting

[Hockeyguy15]

Originally Posted by Iginla

Well is it reasonable for him to go to another machine if there weren't signs saying the machine was out of order? Not to mention the time wasted for the person because of their error.

Seriously? There are machines on pretty much every block, there is no hardship on someone to walk down to another machine a block away.

He said he was running late, I'm pretty sure the parking authority will say too bad. I don't blame them, it isn't their fault he was late and couldn't walk across the street to another machine.

[Hockeyguy15]

Originally Posted by vektor

It was the only parking in the area, there was no where else to go, coulda been a half hour late for a half hour meeting

Were you at a lot or street parking? Downtown Calgary?

If you were on street parking in downtown Calgary the park plus machines are not locked to that specific zone, you can pay for any zone at any machine.

[Jimmy Stang]

I can imagine that they'd be reasonable if you notified them promptly that the equipment wasn't working (ie. before you get caught by the camera car). A week later when the ticket arrives in the mail? Probably not so much.

Hindsight is 20/20, but being able to pay by text message is really handy and I'd recommend it to everyone. I just text the code in while I'm walking to where I need to be and I don't bother with the machines.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by vektor

It was the only parking in the area, there was no where else to go, coulda been a half hour late for a half hour meeting

Was it a meter or a Park Plus machine? If it was a meter (I don't think there are any left in Calgary, but you didn't say you're in Calgary), you should be okay, but then you either would have returned to a ticket or not, so you wouldn't be asking the question.

If it was a Park Plus machine, there are multiple machines on each block and any one can be used to pay.

You can report the broken machine here, which would probably be a good idea to do today, to at least help out your case if you get a ticket and want to fight it: http://www.calgaryparking.com/web/guest/114

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Originally Posted by Iginla

Well is it reasonable for him to go to another machine if there weren't signs saying the machine was out of order? Not to mention the time wasted for the person because of their error.

Well the machine itself would say it's out of order, so yeah, it would be reasonable for him to go to a different machine.

As for the time wasted, becasue if their error, too bad.
That's the way the system works, and if this is downtown Calgary, in 95% of cases, it's not like he would have had to walk more than half a block to find another machine. I'm pretty sure there is no "Minor inconvenience" defence for parking tickets.

[Jacks]

I've been through this, Parking Authority was NOT helpful and refused to do anything about the ticket. I went to the court building and explained the situation to the crown. She reduced the ticket to $10 which was what I would have paid for the parking.

[fleudian]

Those Park Plus machines are terribly unreliable. I once had to visit 3 different machines to find one that worked. They seem to malfunction a lot.

Hope you're successful getting your ticket reduced.

[JMN]

I had this happen to me a couple months ago. The machine was down but still received a ticket. I sent them an email to appeal the ticket with a photo that was taken from my phone but was told that the parking machine a couple blocks down was working and should have been used to pay.

[Rathji]

I work downtown, and use the Park Plus system one or two times a month. Not once have I ever considered using one of the machines.

You can call in or even text now. Takes 5 minutes to set up and a credit card.

[The Big Thirsty]

Originally Posted by fleudian

Those Park Plus machines are terribly unreliable. I once had to visit 3 different machines to find one that worked. They seem to malfunction a lot.

Hope you're successful getting your ticket reduced.

The Park Plus Machines are junk! My office spot is in a park plus lot, and I routinely get a couple of parking tickets a month, despite the fact that i'm a monthly parker whose license plate is registered to the spot. Every few months our our office administrator has to call them up and have tickets cancelled for multiple people in the office. Which to their credit, they always cancel, but it is still a pain.

[Jimmy Stang]

Originally Posted by The Big Thirsty

The Park Plus Machines are junk! My office spot is in a park plus lot, and I routinely get a couple of parking tickets a month, despite the fact that i'm a monthly parker whose license plate is registered to the spot. Every few months our our office administrator has to call them up and have tickets cancelled for multiple people in the office. Which to their credit, they always cancel, but it is still a pain.

This doesn't sound like a problem with the physical machines, but rather an administrative problem. My personal experience with Park Plus has always been favourable (they make taking my money far more convenient!), but I don't use it often either.