Irwin's faulty parking meters 'bagged' until recalibration

Irwin police will not be writing tickets for vehicles in spaces with an expired meter until they can be recalibrated.

The decision to suspend ticket writing at expired meters was prompted by a Westmoreland County Bureau of Weights and Measures’ inspector finding faulty meters in a group of about a half dozen meters she checked Wednesday morning in a parking lot off Main Street, said Chief Dan Wensel.

A motorist had complained that she wrongly received the parking ticket at the lot near the corner of Fifth Street because of a faulty meter. Police tape was placed on a few meters in that lot.

Greg McCloskey, the county’s public works director who oversees the Bureau of Weights and Measures, could not be reached for comment.

Most of the parking meters are in the downtown business district.

Wensel said he was not certain when the meters had last been recalibrated. He said the borough will have its parking enforcement officer, Ralph DiBridge, get certification from the state in calibrating parking meters “as soon as possible.”

In the meantime, DiBridge still will patrol the parking lots to enforce rules for motorists who buy monthly parking permits and will patrol Main Street to enforce the two-hour parking limit, Wensel said.

Whether Irwin Borough will decide to reimburse motorists who received parking tickets because the meters were faulty is a decision for borough council, Wensel said.

Rick Burdelski, borough council president, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.