Bright sunshine, palm trees and the option to enter your parking details in Spanish greeted Hamilton commuters this morning, after a technical issue with the city’s new parking kiosks.

The unforeseen glitch linked the kiosks’ system to a network managed by the County of Los Angeles, changing the imagery and potentially leaving motorists scratching their heads.

“We introduced a new parking model in the city this morning, and while we planned for many scenarios, it’s fair to say we didn’t see this one coming,” said Tania Hermann, Hamilton City Council’s Operate and Maintain Unit Director.

“It’s not helpful to explaining the new changes, but sometimes you just have to accept the unexpected happens and laugh about it.”

Hamilton’s on-street central city parking changed to offer one-hour free parking, with a second hour being $1 or $3 depending on the zone.

New parking kiosks were installed and programmed with the changes but a technical issue during setup has meant the front screen settings have defaulted back to the original programming – which shows the County of Los Angeles and the option to choose language in English or Spanish.

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“Los Angeles was the first city to use these types of kiosks, so their imagery has become the default setting. As soon as people select an option, the system links into Hamilton’s information, which is now resolved.”

Hamilton’s new parking regime means people can park for one-hour free in the central city, but must register via a kiosk or PayMyPark app to receive your free parking. The central city has been split into two zones. Street signs and green or yellow stickers on the kiosks let people know which zone they have parked in.

More information on parking changes

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