Letters to the Editor: Parking in L.A. is hard when you can barely read the meters

To the editor: Thanks for covering some of the ongoing problems with parking in the city (“Coins? Cards? Apps? The hell that is paying for parking in L.A.,” July 22). To avoid the hassle of dealing with multiple apps for small amounts, I always carry a roll of quarters in my car.

What the article missed are the problems with even reading many parking meters that have faded screens that are hard to see, particularly in sunlight, and others with such cloudy or vandalized screen coverings that they can’t be read.

The city needs to overhaul these faded, damaged parking meters.

Bob Ladendorf, Los Angeles

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To the editor: It is unreasonable to require someone to install an app or provide credit card information on corroded parking meter screens that are frequently unreadable. It is also unreasonable that someone should have to pay a $63 fine to park for five minutes if they forgot to charge their cellphone or if their credit card payment didn’t go through.

With the way things are going, I fear that next a 911 app will be required for emergencies. If your house is on fire, press 1; if you are being attacked, press 2. You may have to wait for the chance to press 63 if your entire block smells like a gas pipeline leak.

Ken Hense, Los Angeles