![\"Phoenix](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/f5aawm7cidkfumyb.jpg\")
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PHOENIX<\/strong> – Broken parking meters in downtown Phoenix<\/strong><\/a> are leaving drivers with a big question: Do I still need to pay if the meter is malfunctioning?<\/p>\n What we know:<\/p>\n Imagine heading downtown to kick off the weekend and finding yourself at a meter that is not even showing a display. The city of Phoenix says if you choose to park anyway and chance it, you could very well end up with a fine to pay.<\/p>\n “You know it’s Friday, we’re trying to go out and have a good time, not very many options,” one driver said.<\/p>\n Finding a parking spot in downtown Phoenix turned tricky for a duo looking to get an early start on their weekend plans.<\/p>\n “So we parked, and we tried to pay for our meter, but it kept telling us our time was already expired before we even put any time in there,” they said. “We just assumed it was free because if it’s broken that’s not really my problem, hopefully I don’t have a ticket, if we do, we do.”<\/p>\n And the city says they just might.<\/p>\n According to city code, drivers are responsible for making sure payment is made, with no exceptions for broken or malfunctioning meters.<\/p>\n What they’re saying:<\/p>\n So, are Phoenix drivers willing to take the risk? When asked if they would choose to park there and chance it, one resident responded, “No, I wouldn’t chance it.”<\/p>\n When asked what they would do if it was the last good spot, they noted, “Then I’d just park there.”<\/p>\n When asked if they would just chance it, they answered, “Yeah, at that point, if I couldn’t find anything, and I really had to be there.”<\/p>\n Another driver offered a different perspective, stating, “I’d probably find a different spot.”<\/p>\n “I’m going to guess that if people can’t figure out, they’re just going to keep their car there,” another person added.<\/p>\n Technology is allowing for other options for drivers who run into issues.<\/p>\n “A family friend who is in his 80s called me, and he was like, ‘I don’t know how to use this, it’s broken, I can’t figure it out,’ so he was just going to walk away, and I already had the app on my phone, so I was like, ‘Let me do it for you,” a driver explained.<\/p>\n What’s next:<\/p>\n But some question how often parking rules are enforced to begin with.<\/p>\n “I don’t see, like when you live in LA, you see the meter people driving around in their little vehicles, I have never seen anybody like that around here,” one resident remarked.<\/p>\n When asked if they hear about people getting tickets a lot, one person who works downtown replied, “No, I only see like the little traffic smart car drive around like one time a week here.”<\/p>\n One lifelong resident has her own idea for a solution.<\/p>\n “I grew up here, so I remember when it used to be free, all free to park downtown, and that network would be nice if that came back,” she said.<\/p>\n What you can do:<\/p>\n The city says street transportation staff are replacing batteries in affected meters as they conduct regular collections and maintenance.<\/p>\n The city says anyone who encounters a malfunctioning meter can report it by calling 602-261-8090 or emailing parking.meters@phoenix.gov.<\/p>\n Click here<\/strong><\/a> to learn more about parking meters in Phoenix and how you can pay by using your phone.<\/p>\n Phoenix<\/a>Transportation<\/a>Downtown Phoenix<\/a>News<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PHOENIX – Broken parking meters in downtown Phoenix are leaving drivers with a big question: Do I still…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":831581,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5131],"tags":[5229,5643,1587,48588,1588,50,1589,522,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":["post-831580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-phoenix","tag-america","tag-arizona","tag-az","tag-downtown-phx","tag-maricopa-county","tag-news","tag-phoenix","tag-transportation","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116661678650236616","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/831580","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=831580"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/831580\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/831581"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=831580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=831580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=831580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}