- I live in the lower keys and use the city parking lots multiple times per month and I have to agree that our pay to park machines seem designed to defeat your attempts to give them your money. I have complained quite often about unresponsive buttons and screens on the units, especially the newer ones at the Old Fire Station on Simonton Street. I have used to pay to park machines in other cities and they were easy to use and so I always wonder why our parking department can't seem to deploy better machines. One "no brainer" idea would be to place them in some type of shelter or enclosure so that users could at least read the screen and perhaps the machines might work better if protected from the elements. And twice, while attempting to purchase parking, I have returned to my car to find a parking ticket on the window. Despite catching up with the parking enforcement officer and displaying my receipt, he assured me he would cancel it but I got a notice in the mail that I had an outstanding fine and couldn't prove that I had paid because I used coins and hadn't saved the damned slip. Our parking department is probably trying but they are still falling short.
