Parking meter woes are spreading

The City of Royal Oak is fed up with its parking meter system and is suing the contractor who owns and operates it. Guess what? It’s the same parking meter system and company that Hamtramck uses, and also has been hugely unpopular here. File photo

By Charles Sercombe
Hamtramck, you are not alone in being frustrated – heck, even angered – by the city’s Jos. Campau parking meters.
The City of Royal Oak, that trendy suburb just north of Hamtramck, also has the same parking meters and parking meter contractor, Municipal Parking Services, Inc.
People there have been bitterly complaining about how complex it is to use the meters, and how, despite when the meter system is not working, they still get tickets.
Thousands of people received tickets in Royal Oak after the system first went live, despite the company admitting it was working out some bugs. Those folks were later reimbursed.
But the damage had been done, and word was to avoid Royal Oak. That resulted in businesses suffering a loss of customers by anywhere from 20 to 50 percent.
That approximate percentage of loss in business has also been reported here in Hamtramck.
City officials there have finally had enough, and are now suing the company over the many glitches, as well as for breach of contract.
Here in Hamtramck, the city officials have said it will not renew its contract with the meter company when the contract expires in two years because of these same frustrations people are experiencing.
If the city were to do that, however, it would represent a loss of about $250,000 in revenue per year.
City Manager Max Garbarino has cautioned against ending the contract, saying that the city needs the revenue, and is in a strong position to negotiate new terms for the next contract.
Posted July 12, 2024