Ticket or No Ticket?

I had lunch in downtown Lansing with a friend yesterday.  After some cruising around, I finally found a parking spot on Washington south of Washtenaw (by the way, why were most of the cars parked on an angle when the lines are not angled?!).  I walked up to the meter to put in money, but it said "Out of Order".  Hmmm.  Does that mean 'free pass' for the day or that I might get a ticket for parking at a meter that wasn't working?  I took a chance and hoped for the best.  I asked my friend when I got to lunch what he thought the policy might be - he said it was likely up to the whim of the parking meter enforcer and their mood at the moment.

When I got back to my car, no ticket -- yay!

I did call the City of Lansing Parking Services department this morning to ask for their policy when a meter is out of order. I was told that if I were issued a ticket, I could file a 'meter concern'.  They would then send a technician to check the meter and if they determined that it wasn't working, you wouldn't have to pay the ticket.

And remember, if you do get a parking ticket, the sooner you pay it, the less it costs you.  Details in the highlighted link.