Photo by Photo Submitted
METRES STOLEN, SMASHED – About 20 parking meters were discovered last weekend by city councillor Jan Stick and a friend walking in the woods in Whitehorse. The meters cost about $20,000. Photo courtesy JAN STICK
Vandalized parking meters found
It’s not every day an afternoon walk in the woods turns up a bunch of parking meters still plugged with coins, but that’s exactly what happened to Coun. Jan Stick last weekend.
It’s not every day an afternoon walk in the woods turns up a bunch of parking meters still plugged with coins, but that’s exactly what happened to Coun. Jan Stick last weekend.
At Monday’s council meeting, Stick shared her story.
She was out for a stroll in the woods in Riverdale with a friend when they came upon a cluster of parking meters. The devices had been vandalized and stolen over the past winter. The thieves were not able to get the coins out of the machines.
“I was shocked by this,” Stick said as she recalled dragging them out of the woods with a bylaw officer who had arrived after she called.
Discussing the cost of replacing the meters, Jeff O’Farrell, the city’s manager of community and recreation services, pegged the replacement of meters with double heads at $1,500, while single-head meters cost $1,000.
With about 10 meters of both types vandalized, O’Farrell estimated the total replacement cost at about $15,000.
Stick was quick to point out that is to replace the meters only.’
It doesn’t include the cost of installing fresh cement nor the time it takes for staff to install the new meters.
Mayor Dan Curtis also expressed his shock at the situation, noting the vandalism costs all Whitehorse taxpayers.
It’s important to keep a close watch out for any vandalism, he said.
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Comments (28)
Up 0 Down 0
The current parking meters have costs too on Apr 1, 2019 at 4:54 pm
The meters break, or are broken and have to be fixed or replaced. Then there's the cost of bylaw officers dedicated to monitoring them. They have to be emptied of coins, and the coins have to be transported to City Hall, counted, sorted and deposited in the bank. I don't know what the annual cost of this is currently, but I'd be interested in the City doing a calculation - I'm betting it's higher than a person would think. And the existing posts are just plain ugly with all the rust on them.
Up 6 Down 2
Max Mack on Apr 1, 2019 at 1:57 pm
I've made this comment on other parking-meter related stories. Hopefully, people posting on this story read my comment.
Smartphone apps and digital payment solutions WILL increase the cost of parking substantially. Software and digital "solutions" increase convenience for the end user, but add complexity and cost to management and enforcement.
Even if software/digital solutions resulted in no technology challenges, the banks and payment processors will charge the city for debit/credit transactions and this alone will increase the cost of parking significantly.
But it is almost a guarantee that the city would also need to acquire new software, new technology (hardware, etc) and design new processes to handle smartphone and digital payment solutions for parking. These costs will not be small.
Be careful what you wish for.
Up 3 Down 2
Roller on Apr 1, 2019 at 12:54 pm
@ Chris Sorg
Modern meters are hybrids in terms of payment options. Coins. Cards and Apps are all ways to pay.
That said, I avoid shopping/parking downtown not because of the costs, but because there is no parking available or it is too restrictive on how long you can stay. I will continue to do the vast majority of my buying online.
With regards to the 'ramp'. It is doable inside your store beginning at the front door and into the front retail area. You will lose real estate but that is the cost of doing business. Frankly, I'm surprised that accessibility isn't required and enforce yet but in time it certainly will be. Best to be ahead of the curve on that one.
Up 9 Down 2
Joe on Apr 1, 2019 at 7:53 am
I don't shop downtown anymore because of meters. I've converted to online shopping and wherever there is free parking. Shoppers don't plug up parking spaces, employees do.
Up 10 Down 4
Chris Sorg on Mar 30, 2019 at 9:34 am
Responding to various comments...first, I totally agree on the nickels and dimes and have made that case to the City ever since the changeover from the previous meters. The smart phone option would only be one option, there would still need to be kiosks around for other payment methods. Overall, if there were an option, I think the public would save money in two ways. Being able to “top up” their meter when they end up being a bit longer than they figured shopping or running into someone and having a conversation. Happens all the time! Also, if you get a ticket but don’t have time or desire to go pay it within one business day, you’d be much more able to pay $10 vs $25. As for access to businesses on Main St., I also fully agree. At Mac’s we invested in an strong but lightweight aluminum ramp that our staff puts out front regularly for customers unable to negotiate the front step. Not a perfect solution, but considering the sidewalk is City property and the building is right up to the property line, it has been a big improvement for a large number of our customers who previously found the store inaccessible. Also, I’ve advocated in a number of parking review forums for the elimination of the meters on Main Street in the downtown core and changing it over to a one hour parking zone. This would save the public a large amount of money, make the area much more customer friendly and I believe we’d still have a sufficient amount of parking turnover to make it feasible. Unfortunately, I have yet to convince the City to give it a try by bagging all the meters for say a three month period as a trial, but will keep putting the idea forward.
Up 5 Down 0
Roller on Mar 29, 2019 at 4:02 pm
Pipe cutters are quiet hand tools, you can cut through one of those in a minute or two. Or, just snap it off with the front of your truck.
Up 6 Down 0
ghost of meters past on Mar 29, 2019 at 12:34 am
Dunno about the cost of fresh cement being figured in, lots of meters on Main St. have posts welded and grafted to the stumps of previous meters.
Up 5 Down 0
My Opinion on Mar 28, 2019 at 7:44 pm
Haha Good one @Roller. Nice Dis.
Up 16 Down 1
Roller on Mar 28, 2019 at 4:20 pm
@Chris Sorg
...and while we are at it, let's require accessibility ramps into stores on Main Street while we are joining the 21st Century.
Up 13 Down 4
North_of_60 on Mar 28, 2019 at 2:00 pm
@CJ is 100% correct. We sure as heck don't need expensive 'smart meters' of any kind, especially since they're already $1k-$1.5k. However it would be a good idea for the CoW to have an app so that fone-people could pay their fines with their i-Toys.
Up 26 Down 2
Patti Eyre on Mar 28, 2019 at 1:27 pm
I am annoyed I can no longer use nickels and dimes in the meters around town, pennies I can understand since we did away with those but 5s and 10s?
Up 14 Down 4
CJ on Mar 28, 2019 at 12:29 pm
@Chris Sorg, How funny, I was just going to say I hope they don't do that (smartphones). Though it sounds like they want to seize the opportunity, since the City of Whitehorse is generally in favour of solving small issues with a sledgehammer, especially if they think it makes them look all "21st century".
While I'm not sure I grasp the theory entirely, I think you would use the smartphone to pay for parking from your accounts. If so, no thank you. That just transfers vulnerability to thousands of residents. I don't use my smartphone for financial transactions and I would not at all like the city putting me in a position where I would need to depart from that conscious decision just to be able to park.
People still use cash and coins, it's a bit of a myth that cash is being replaced. Using smart cards and so on for payments is actually hard for many lower-income residents all over the world -- a general observation that means that the reigning philosophy is to have multiple payment channels, including the option to pay in cash. Using loose change is a simple solution.
With regard to these meters, were they taken one at a time over the winter? That might explain how they could do it without anyone noticing. It must have taken a truck to pull them out, though that would have left a lot of damage behind, so there you are. Another mystery.
Up 11 Down 2
Fredia on Mar 28, 2019 at 10:04 am
Maybe they don't like paying parking tickets, maybe it was a ill conceived prank. Why take the risk and go through all this trouble to just ditch them without collecting the booty? There had to have been some kind of racket ripping them out of the cement, and not just one but several meters and yet no one heard anything. It's not April 1st and this is no early joke. It is nervy and foolhardy and pure vandalism.
Up 13 Down 2
Yukon Justice on Mar 27, 2019 at 6:32 pm
It's obvious the meters need to be protected. Install one on my drive-way and I'll keep an eye on it. The revenue won't change, I'll have my friends pay for parking when they come over and I'll train the kids to run out and put coins in it every hour.
Has anyone seen the movie Cool Hand Luke? Maybe Paul stole the meters.
Up 6 Down 13
Peter Cambridge on Mar 27, 2019 at 6:07 pm
Misguided youth or people suffering from poverty is my guess for why they were taken.
Up 18 Down 3
Charlie's Aunt on Mar 27, 2019 at 5:28 pm
'The devices had been vandalized and stolen over the past winter.' How come no-one noticed they were missing? Were they stolen or are they ones that have been replaced and ripped off out of storage somewhere or found at dump? Notice there is no mention of where they came from so we could have free parking before replacement.
@Thomas B, I agree, pretty lame thieves to go to all that trouble and then not be able to collect the coins.
Up 15 Down 1
Darrell Drugstore's smartest neighbour on Mar 27, 2019 at 5:18 pm
HMMMMM - when did Cool Hand Luke move to WH ?
Up 10 Down 16
Wilf on Mar 27, 2019 at 3:52 pm
Jeepers, I'm sure glad I don't live in that neighborhood. What kind of people do you have around there?
Up 18 Down 5
North_of_60 on Mar 26, 2019 at 8:33 pm
The tops were knocked off but the cases appear intact. If the CoW actually believes their "sustainability" mantra, then wouldn't they repair the broken meters or get a local business to do it? With a total replacement cost at about $15,000 it would seem that repair rather than replacement would be the sensible expenditure of our hard earned tax dollars.
Wonder why the "reporter" didn't ask that and report the answer.
Up 21 Down 1
Guncache on Mar 26, 2019 at 7:42 pm
Save money by not installing them. How long will it take to recoup this money? Everyone knows parking meters (and parking tickets) are a city revenue generator.
Up 21 Down 12
Chris Sorg on Mar 26, 2019 at 7:03 pm
Hey...I have an idea. Let’s try turning lemons into lemonade. Good opportunity to finally start installing some 21st century meters that can be activated with our smartphones, rather than replacing these dinosaurs. If more funds are required, remember we have a million + dollar parking reserve fund that for some reason we never use for anything parking related. Anyway, just a thought.
Up 17 Down 4
Dave on Mar 26, 2019 at 5:05 pm
Who is so desperate and such a loser that they would go through the trouble to steal a parking meter for change. Whoever it is and whoever raised them must be so proud of how they turned out.
Up 18 Down 1
Ricky, Julian and Bubbles on Mar 26, 2019 at 4:42 pm
Some real big dirty crime right here. Pretty greasy boys. Life imitates art in Whitehorse, courtesy of Trailer Park Boys.
- obviously this is a crime and not funny but the meme's seem to write themselves.
Up 20 Down 2
Glad they couldn't get them open! on Mar 26, 2019 at 4:36 pm
I'm so glad the thieves couldn't get them open. But how does one steal parking meters, cased in cement, and not get anybody's attention? Wouldn't it be loud getting steel posts out of cement? Maybe somebody was fed up with all of the meters around town...or maybe just a really stupid thief.
Up 16 Down 8
Thomas Brewer on Mar 26, 2019 at 4:01 pm
Pretty useless thieves if they couldn't break into a meter. How were they able to get them out of the pavement? Was it cracked and broken? Then maybe the city is partly culpable.
Up 17 Down 7
Cory oakes on Mar 26, 2019 at 3:29 pm
Well...thanks to the vandals, we can expect bylaw officers and meter maids to enforce the meters even more then they already do to recoup the replacement cost. The vandalism is not okay by any means...and now we'll be nickled and dimed even more. Thanks a lot ya big jerks!
Up 14 Down 4
Cool Hand Luke on Mar 26, 2019 at 3:12 pm
What we have here is a failure to communicate....
Up 19 Down 7
Clay on Mar 26, 2019 at 2:55 pm
You dragged them out of the woods? Why not have the RCMP investigate and finger print them?