Councilman Bonin Wants Broken-Meter Ticketing to End

By City News Service

Los Angeles City Councilman Mike Bonin urged his colleagues today to undo a policy of ticketing Angelenos for parking at broken meters.

The newly minted Westside lawmaker, who replaced his old boss, Bill Rosendahl, submitted the motion as the 15-member body got to work with six new members.

The council's Transportation Committee that Bonin heads will take up the issue next. A vote by the full council would be needed to rescind the policy approved in December 2012.

"Punishing people because a meter is broken is blatantly unfair," Bonin said.

The idea of ticketing vehicles at broken meters was proposed by city officials worried that people would break or vandalize them to park for free.

"Reversing this bad policy," Bonin said, would show Angelenos and business people the city is "working for people, not against them."

The city is in the process up replacing and updating meters, most of which are harder to break and incorporate a notification system aimed at getting them fixed quickly.

"New technology has made this outdated policy unnecessary ... " Bonin said.

Bruce Gillman, spokesman for the transportation department, said efforts by former Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the City Council to modernize the city's parking meters resulted in a "99.9 percent operational rate."

Bonin's motion comes as the state Senate is scheduled to consider a bill introduced by Assemblyman Mike Gatto, D-Los Angeles, that would prohibit cities from ticketing drivers who park at broken meters.