For more than a year, parking meters have become a nightmare for motorists in Amiens (Somme).
And for good reason: according to a latest census, around a hundred out of around 500 are broken down or experiencing recurring problems such as making payment by bank card impossible.
Users regularly share their misadventures on social networks, especially as at the same time, fines continue to be issued: “It’s really shameful!
They know full well that the parking meters don't work but they do nothing and continue to issue fines!
», says an angry witness on the Wake up Amiens website.
New ones will be installed “as soon as possible, in the coming weeks”
Others indicate having tried up to four parking meters without success and ultimately having to pay a post-parking fee of 17 euros.
“However, we have given instructions not to issue fines in areas where they encounter the most problems, such as in the city center,” assures François Boll, head of the mobility department at Amiens Métropole.
He announces that new parking meters will be installed “as soon as possible, in the coming weeks” to replace faulty ones that have been installed for twenty-five years.
In the meantime, he believes that motorists can resort to other solutions such as for example using the PayByPhone application, in order to save time, or going down to the existing car parks: “They have 4,000 parking spaces and the price is lower than on the surface,” he emphasizes.