Putting coins in a D.C. parking meter is akin to playing slots. You slip a quarter into the slot, and the gambling begins.
Will the meter register the money and add time?
Will it swallow your coins and keep flashing “Expired?” Will it simply jam?
Take my attempt at parking Friday morning. At 9:30 I had to cover a hearing in a murder case at Superior Court. Knowing that parking is allowed at that moment, I pulled up Seventh Street Northwest just below D Street at 9:35. I found a spot. I was in luck; the meter already had 14 minutes.
I walked across the street to the Chevy Chase Bank and got a roll of quarters. I started feeding. The meter gobbled each one but registered every other. At eight quarters and 45 minutes, the meter stopped flashing time and read “Out of Order.” I called the number on the side of the meter to report the malfunction. A nice woman took my call and gave me a confirmation number. I wrote the number on a note, tucked it behind my wiper and went to court. I expected to find a ticket for $25 when I returned.
There are 15,453 parking meters in the nation’s capital, according to John Lisle, spokesman for the Department of Transportation. Recently, city workers fanned out across the city and checked every meter. They found 95 percent were working, he said.
Terry Lynch estimates the number of busted meters is closer to 20 percent. Lynch, executive director for the Downtown Cluster of congregations, is committed to making downtown function well for residents, travelers and businesses. He has become somewhat of a parking meter activist.
“It’s a way for someone to make money,” Lynch says, “but it doesn’t help citizens, tourists or businesspeople.”
John Lisle says the city receives 400 to 500 complaints about meters on any give day. More than 100,000 complaints come in a year, topping calls about potholes or any other street matters.
“A large number of meters need to be replaced,” he says. “They are old, susceptible to vandalism. It’s not surprising, given the number of interactions, that the mechanical meters would break down.”
The city is trying to replace the 1990 meters on posts with multispace machines that take bills and credit cards. You pay, get a little stub, place it on your dash. I use them all the time. The city hopes to have 514 by June. The worst bet in meter roulette is getting one of the self-correcting jobs. Let’s say one jams or says “Out of Order.” You call it in and leave. The meter fixes itself, registers “Expired,” and you get a ticket.
While in court, I imagined the meter fixing itself and a meter reader giving me a pink ticket. But when I returned to the car at 11:15, not only was there not a ticket, but the meter said I had another hour!
In D.C., you never can tell when you will win parking roulette.
