ORLANDO, Fla. — Channel 9 learned about a possible glitch with parking meters in downtown Orlando that could cause them to zero out before they should.
Reporter Kathi Belich spoke with a man who was ticketed even though he had almost an hour to spare on the meter.
Jonathan Pickerl said he had a problem Tuesday with a meter on east Church Street in downtown Orlando.
Pickerl said he paid for two hours' parking yesterday, and when he came out 70 minutes later, there was a $22 parking ticket on his windshield.
He had set his phone number so he would not get a ticket.
He called the parking division to complain, the city deleted the ticket, but he was unhappy with the explanation.
“There is actually a sensor underground with these meters and that a car driving by can have it reset,” said Pickerl. “I requested a service technician come out and look at the meter and she stated there was no need. It was fine and that it happened on a regular basis.”
City officials said Pickerl was misinformed and that the issue was not widespread, and that the parking staff is being reeducated.
The city was alerted of the same problem near Publix and took care of it and said it’s looking into the meter.
The Orange County mayor’s spokeswoman said the new system allows every claim to be instantly investigated for possible malfunction, and customers should keep tabs on their meters.
The city said the new meters have reduced complaints and violations because of their payment options and the customers’ ability to add tie to their meters through cellphones.