Cheated by Seattle parking meter? City will take your call

The Seattle Department of Transportation writes in its blog that sure enough, a number of on-street parking pay stations “recently experienced some technical problems.”

SDOT says a cell tower lost signal strength intermittently and that caused all the trouble.

At any time from several dozen to 100 stations, out of 2,200 citywide, in the Pike/Pine, waterfront, Belltown and University District areas were affected by this cell tower problem. As SDOT worked with Parkeon to resolve the issue, parking enforcement officers in these neighborhoods were asked to be lenient in issuing citations, especially if there was any indication that the machines are not working appropriately.

So, SDOT says, if you were one of the unlucky drivers who got charged for parking but did not receive a receipt, discovered multiple credit card charges or received a parking ticket in error, please call SDOT at 206-733-9241.