They’re extra smart all right, because they’re guaranteed to increase the mismanaged coffers down at City Hall. Not content with the less-productive regular smart meters that have become a fixture across Los Angeles and allow parkers to swipe their credit cards or use coins, L.A. is pleased to introduce the newer, extra-smart meters that take credit cards and coins too, sort of, just remember, however, even though they accept coins, coins are not allowed.
Got it? Clear? I didn’t think so.
In other words, this wonderful curbside angle works something like this. You put coins in the slot marked “coins,” because the slot takes coins and will readily accept as many as you want to put in there. It’s not like it’s been sealed or anything radical like that to dissuade you from throwing your money away. Heck, you can burn though an entire roll of quarters if you’d like, as these “coin accepting” meters that don’t count coins as actual payment will be glad to receive your donation anyway.
Just follow the directions and put your coins in right below the “insert coins here” notice.
And then off you run to do whatever it is that over-taxed citizens do in one of the most broken sidewalked, pot-hole ridden, over-priced, under-policed cities in the country: stop into work, or buy your coffee, or drop your kid at school, or pick up the dry cleaning, anything you want, and when you return to your vehicle you’ll find a nice, crisp white ticket waiting for you under the windshield wiper.
Only then might you possibly see through the smudged, tagged or smashed screen face of the meter a few dull words that read, “no coins accepted.”
Hey, how else is L.A. going to pay the thousands of parking enforcement rats, I mean, officers, scurrying around town in their little white rat-mobiles, right?
Extra smart parking meters, just one more scheme in the City of Angles.
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