Their Thinking Is, the ‘Smart’ Meter Was a Dumb Idea

As the morning fog burned away on Balboa Peninsula and the sidewalks filled with people for another day at the beach, never has the ubiquitous parking meter caused such a fuss.

One man cursed. Another wasted $1.75 in quarters. And one family was so disgusted they packed their beach balls and went home.

This weekend was the first that Newport Beach and its visitors saw a new kind of parking meter--”smart” meters--in action. The meters use sensors in the ground that can tell if a car has overstayed its welcome, preventing constant feeding. It also erases leftover meter time if a driver leaves before the time is used up.

On Saturday, the meters reached out and tweaked a few nerves.

David Sirota, who was arguing with two parking enforcement officers explaining the new technology to him, said, “This is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.”

Sirota, a 46-year-old Anaheim Hills man, then exploited the meter’s only flaw: He backed his Ford Mustang from his spot, tricking the meter’s sensor into thinking he had left, and then pulled it back in.

Newport Beach is one of the first cities in the country to use the technology. In recent weeks, the city has installed the meters to prevent people from hogging parking spots--feeding the meter each time it runs out. City officials said they also want businesses to see more turnover in the spots near their stores.

Through the day, beachgoers were livid, trying to figure ways to fool the new meter and hounding the officers who were saddled with the task of explaining the technology.

Chris Mirahali, of Corona, stood at the meter with his son, feeding it, hoping it would register his coins. He then noticed the grooves in the ground where the sensor--a metal detector--had been planted, and a look of sudden realization came over his face.

“So, I can’t feed the meter then?” he said to nobody. “I can’t believe that. Wait: So I have to come back every hour and move my car to another spot?” he said. “I just want to bring my son to the beach. Well, I got 27 minutes left and I gotta go. We gotta go have our half-hour of fun.”

He stomped away and shook his head, mumbling.

It’s about entitlement. Many people say they wish the city had left meters alone, leaving the sport and craft of finding a good parking spot intact, because if you find a spot after a 30-minute search, it should be yours to keep as long as you want.

“If you find one, you’re entitled to keep it,” said Mike Hyuen, who was visiting the beach with his girlfriend. “Aren’t you?”

Sirota, the Anaheim Hills man, said, “It’s like they tell you you can have this spot, but now every hour they’re gonna say, ‘Hey, your lease is up!’ But I worked hard to find this spot.”

City officials say they are enforcing rules that have long been there. In an ideal world, people “should vacate their spots when their time is up,” said Rich Edmonston, Newport Beach traffic engineer. Edmonston said the new technology simply makes it harder to feed the meter.

On Saturday though, people still tried--and succeeded. While some simply left, dozens of people had figured out how to trick the meter by leaving the spot for a few seconds and pulling back in. Most had to contend with angry drivers behind them who had anticipated their departure.

One person on Saturday approved of the new meters, but seemed almost embarrassed for her thoughts.

“When we were dropped off this morning,” said Lindsay Metzler, 26, “at least there was a spot to park in. I guess it’s kind of a good thing. Right?”