Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Parking Program topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Downtown merchants press San Bruno council to fix malfunctioning parking kiosks and enforcement
Summary
Multiple downtown merchants and residents told the San Bruno City Council on Sept. 24 that solar-powered kiosks have repeatedly failed, leading to unfair $50 citations, lost customers and revenue; staff said 16 of 83 kiosks are affected (eight by vandalism) and agreed to post clearer outage and dispute instructions and return with an update.
Downtown merchants and residents urged the San Bruno City Council on Sept. 24 to address widespread problems with a recently launched parking program that they say has driven customers away.
"It's become chaos to me," Rebecca Milano told the council during public comment, describing seniors and shoppers who receive $50 tickets after kiosks fail. Several speakers said they have had customers receive citations seconds after parking while trying multiple kiosks that were not accepting payments.
Acting police command staff acknowledged a spike in kiosk outages and described technical and vandalism issues. The acting chief said 16 of the city's 83 kiosks are currently experiencing issues and that eight of those are related to a vandalism incident on the 400 block of Summit Avenue. Staff said solar panels and the changing sun angle have reduced charging for some machines and that replacement parts have been ordered from the vendor.
City administrative staff and the acting chief described the dispute process for citations. Staff said they can cross-check kiosk uptime and payment timestamps in the enforcement database and urged residents who think a ticket was issued in error to use the city dispute website (pticket.com) so the traffic sergeant can review and, when appropriate, dismiss citations.
Council members pressed staff on whether LAZ, the city contractor, receives live outage alerts and whether enforcement can be paused at blocks with known inoperable kiosks. Staff said LAZ and the city's CSO group receive alerts and that LAZ has been directed to post notices and QR codes on machines that are partially functional; staff also agreed to add clearer information on the city website about how to contest a citation and to provide an announcements update at an upcoming meeting. The city said a more comprehensive report on paid parking and possible changes (including short-term paid parking or green zones) will be prepared when the police chief is available to participate.
The council did not vote on policy changes at the Sept. 24 meeting but directed staff to return with additional information and outreach steps. Council members said they want to explore additional leniency for people who encounter broken kiosks and asked the vendor to explain its enforcement timing and any grace-period practices.
What happens next: staff will post more kiosk guidance online and direct LAZ to place notices on malfunctioning machines while the city continues vendor repairs; the council asked staff to return with an announcements update and later a comprehensive parking report when the police chief can participate.
