Atlanta council to hold PARKAtlanta hearings

A third meeting will be announced at a later time.

For years, Atlantans have grumbled about the city’s parking meter police, PARKAtlanta. Now — as the company’s contract is set to expire — city leaders are asking residents for feedback.

The Atlanta City Council’s transportation committee, led by Councilwoman Felicia Moore, will hold a series of town hall meetings to discuss the parking enforcement program.

PARKAtlanta, run by Milwaukee-based Duncan Solutions, has monitored and ticketed illegal on-street parking since 2009. Since its inception, the company has come under fire for aggressive and at-times erroneous ticketing and booting, not to mention confusing signage and high fees.

According to the original contract, Duncan Solutions agreed to pay Atlanta $5.5 million a year, a figure that was later amended to $5.3 million. The company keeps any additional revenue.

The company’s seven-year contract will expire in 2016. Atlanta officials could hire a new company or bring parking enforcement operations in-house.

Mayor Kasim Reed has indicated a willingness to sever ties with PARKAtlanta. Speaking at a community event last month, Reed said complaints are to be expected when implementing a new program, but they’ve remained a problem under PARKAtlanta.

“My issue is those complaints have been sustained over a long period of time and that suggests that we need to do some things differently,” he said.

The meetings, which kick off Dec. 2, will be broadcast on Channel 26, as well as online.