PARKatlanta, the company charged with enforcing Atlanta’s parking rules, will no longer be able to write tickets where parking signs are missing or blocked by foliage or other obstacles, and where meters are not functioning, after the Atlanta City Council amended the controversial seven-year contract.
The amended contractual agreement comes on the heels of years of complaints from drivers, who claim that PARKatlanta has been enforcing parking regulations too stringently.
In 2009, PARKatlanta signed a seven-year contract with the city to install and collect money from new meters, install parking signs and street markings and issue parking citations tickets. In addition to banning ticketing to areas where the markings are unclear, the new agreement now states, among other things, that PARKatlanta will now maintain all parking related signage in right-of-way, provide an online process for filing complaints on its website; respond to all online complaints within two days; report all complaints to city officials; dedicate a specific phone number to complaints, and improve employee training.
As a result of these concessions, PARKatlanta will pay the City $5.3 million annually instead of $5.5 million.
“I think the passage of this legislation demonstrates that we…hear the voices of our constituents, and are taking the right steps to alleviate their concerns with regards to PARKatlanta,” said Councilmember H. Lamar Willis.”
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