The Observation Deck

I just got a call from a business owner on Madison that on Saturday two of her clients got $25 tickets for parking at a meter,even though the meter said "free Sat. and Sundays". She called the police who told her it was free, then they spotted a sign on the corner that said one hour free parking on Saturday, which must be new and was told to no business owners. They are very upset and wondering if anyone can shed light on this. In a time where businesses need more customers, this will surely hurt them.

Justine,

Great post.

It has also come to my attention that the "15 minute free" privilege is no longer in effect on the new meters either, although it is convenient to once again use nickels and dimes for short periods of time. Am I mistaken about this?

In addition, there seems to be a private lot with private meters at St. Charles and Detroit. Those meters seem to be in effect all the time, even Sundays, and 24/7, although I may be mistaken. I do not know whether the city enforces that private lot. Does anyone out there know for sure?

With all of the free parking available in our surrounding communities, I wonder exactly how much metered parking is really beneficial to Lakewood businesses, but that's only my opinion.

It has also come to my attention that the "15 minute free" privilege is no longer in effect on the new meters either, although it is convenient to once again use nickels and dimes for short periods of time

It's still available Gary. Just push the little silver button.

Jeff

I'm not sure this is new for Madison. I know all of the meters by me haveread "One hour parking on Saturday" for several years now.

15 minutes still free?

Thank you Jeff, for your clarification. :

Although.... the push-button system will probably remind me of that Pavlov dog experiment in Psychology.

Chris the meters read free for Saturday and Sunday I was told and even the police did not know until they read a sign on a post (as reported by a business owner). As far as the new meters with free time, is it really worth the cost of tax payers to put them up along Detroit where they just finished construction? Will they get their money back from the computerized new ones and does anyone know how much they cost?

La Pita is one who wouldn't mind doing without those meters since they lost a lot of business with the construction in front of them! If they do install them, does anyone know how often they are checked? Goddess Blessed has reported that staffing place several times to the city because their employee (who also lives above) parks out front and every fifteen minutes turns the free meter! That is what the city should be looking for I would think, abusers of the meters that are meant for everyone.

I have noticed they have been installing the new meters along Detroit and Madison. There are a bunch of new ones in front of St. Eds.

Can someone ask Bill Call how much they cost? Just curious? If they aren't being manned I wonder if they are worth it. Obviously some were looked after on Saturday!!!!! The owners paid for the tickets because they felt bad. That is not what should be going on here.

Justine Cooper wrote:Chris the meters read free for Saturday and Sunday I was told and even the police did not know until they read a sign on a post (as reported by a business owner).

What part of Madison are those meters on? I was just mentioning the meters near my apartment, which have said 1 hour parking on Saturdays since I've moved to Lakewood.

I hope that all the meters now that they are starting to switch them out, will be consistant. Less confusion will be caused.

This was Blue Ribbon Graphics in the middle of Madison. Would they not be all the same up and down Madison and Detroit? It is confusing.

Some meters behind our building, Cook and Detroit, have the button for 15 minutes free but you cannot push them (kind of like the "close door button" on an elevator). Other meters look completely different and have no offering of 15 minutes free, both are new styles of meters.

Corey

Why would it hurt them? Do you mean the ticket or that the city is stepping up the collection of expired meters? There is clearly a need for communication and consistency on this topic. I disagree that this would necessarily hurt business though. Two reasons come to mind. Coventry is doing well by all accounts and you will get ticketed if your meter expires there. Lakewood is supposed to be walkable so why would local resident, shoppers need to park to go into a local business? The locals should know the deal and come prepared with a quarter if needed. Those coming in from other cities shouldn't be that shocked that the meters need to be fed. I truly do not find it all to unreasonable to have a city as dense and short on cash as Lakewood to look for money from parking fines.
As for the resident that turns the meter every 15 minutes; good God get a life. I think Case has an opening for lab rat. At least then you'll get a pellet every time you press the button.

How about angle parking in areas that have several reatilers in a block area? Traffic flow vs parking

Justine Cooper wrote:This was Blue Ribbon Graphics in the middle of Madison. Would they not be all the same up and down Madison and Detroit? It is confusing.

I wish they would all be the same! But the sign there that states one hour parking on Saturdays has been there as long as I've been in Lakewood. I'm pretty sure it says that on the meters as well. It is still free on Saturdays, but only for an hour. I know the antique dealer there got a few tickets on Saturday because of it.

I have noticed that sometimes they don't enforce the meters on Saturday, and then for a short while they will enforce them strictly.

must have been a slow month.