Today I parked in spot 115B on the east side of the square. I swiped my card several times, and it kept saying "transaction cancelled". I had just used my debit card at the store with no issues. I dug through the car for change, and was able to pay with change with no issues. But the meter refused to accept my card. I have never had a problem before, and it was very strange.
I am writing to urge you to extend the amount of time between the issuance of a parking ticket and the date on which the price of that ticket doubles. I realize I am lucky to have a secure job associated with a decent wage that allows me to occasionally absorb the cost of a parking ticket, for those rare times when I accidentally exceed my expected amount of time downtown. However, it was not so long ago, when I was a graduate student, that I truly lived paycheck-to-paycheck, and had a lot of difficulty making it through the second half of the month. A $20 parking ticket which doubles in price within 10 days would have been a very difficult expense to manage. And it should be recognized that even those of us who diligently pay our meters occasionally run into difficulties that cause us to run over. At the same time, we often overpay for the meter ($$ for which we are never reimbursed). In any event, a parking ticket that doubles in price within 10 days puts an undue burden on those residents of Bloomington who are in a challenging financial situation. I suggest you extend the remission time to 30 days to allow your city's residents to better manage their household budgets. Regards, Dr. Kim Novick 904 E 14th Street Bloomington, IN 47408
Meter malfunction. Put in several quarters but time didn't increment. Was only 8 pm. Didn't get ticket though
I parked downtown this past weekend to dine out with a good friend - the meter would not take my card at first, then it did, but wouldn't let me remove it (I though I'd have to leave it!). My friend did manage to wrestle it out of the meter, but we had to find coins to pay the meter - THEN - it only registered about half of the coins we inserted, so we lost $ parking so that we might support our local restaurants. Meter #76118 on the south side of the courthouse in front of Fountain Square. I suspect this is not the only defective meter? Might be time for tuneups?
We parked in parkikng zone 7653 yesterday (Aug. 29) from 3:20-4:20 pm. We tried to put in a $1 coin, but the machine didn't take, so we used quarters instead. The quarters worked, so we tried the $1 coin again, but the machine ate it again. Is there any way we can get our $2 back? I tried calling the office and they transferred me to the person who could issue a credit back, but no one answered the call and the voicemail hadn't been set up yet, so I couldn't leave a message. I appreciate your help.
Today, I parked on Walnut St, just outside Fountain Square. I initially got $8 in quarters nickels and dimes to feed the meter. At 9:45am, I put $6 of quarters, nickels, and dimes in the meter (which should have made my time expire at 3:45pm). This only gave me time until 12:03pm. I then went back up at 11:45am with my remaining $2 and put the 8 quarters in - which added 30 minutes to my parking time - at $1 per hour, this is incorrect. I then decided that the parking meter was not capable of taking change, so I got my debit card out and paid for the remaining part of the day - to take me to 5:17pm (really wanted 5:30pm, but was sick of fighting with the meter). At this point - I think that the amount I have paid for 7.5 hours is $12.30 (obviously the $0.30 is because I used my card - EVEN though I had change). The amount I should have had to pay for 7.5 hours is $7.50. Even if you give me a refund, I REALLY just want the meter fixed. I will take a picture of the meter before I leave tonight so you are able to determine which meter is malfunctioning. Please feel free to contact me at the email and phone number listed.
The ‘no parking’ zones were recently repainted for street parking off 8th and Indiana. It seems that the no parking designated zone was extended 3-5 feet. Was there a reason for this? Now, there is even more limited street parking, and it’s going to be a warzone when the rest of the students move in come August.