Quick chill freezes Ottawa parking meters

Icy, freezing weather created a parking free-for-all across Ottawa at pay-and-display spots on Monday.

Sunday's rain and Monday's sudden temperature drop from 2 C at 1 a.m. to -7 C by 7 a.m. froze displays, making it impossible to press the buttons needed to print tickets on some machines.

John Manconi, the general manager of Ottawa's public works department, said city workers are inspecting malfunctioning machines and spraying them with de-icer fluid. The repairs are expected to be completed on Monday evening.

Tom Keeley, with Precise Park Link, the company contracted by the city to run the machines, said they can handle weather of up to -40 C. But the combination of rain and freezing temperatures was "unexpected." 

"Not something we see very often — and going forward, something that we'll certainly be paying much more attention to, in terms of the weather," said Keeley. 

Precise Park Line has agreed to de-ice the machines in advance of bad weather in the future.

Manconi said the city would not be issuing any tickets until the work has been completed, and anyone charged on their credit card for a ticket that wasn't printed will be reimbursed.

About 600 pay-and-display parking meters were installed across the city earlier this year, replacing about 4,000 old coin-operated meters.

For some drivers, like Brad Boyle, the parking meter freeze was a little bonus. 

But he does suggest the city do some extra cold weather testing in future — after all "it is Ottawa, so there may be ice in the area here once or twice. So something that doesn't work in the cold doesn't make sense," he said.