Free-For-All Friday 8/8/14

Feel free to use this post to make comments and ask questions about local topics not discussed here over the past week.

Comments close on Monday.

95 thoughts on “Free-For-All Friday 8/8/14”


  2. Have you noticed COD streets are taking a pounding due to new or upgraded construction; this is due to poor workmanship when repairing the street. Since the city is responsible for permits, who should follow up to make sure the street is paved correctly?

    1. David Junger at the city. But if it’s a state route project, then it is a little more complicated.

    2. If you’re thinking of the 100 and 200 blocks of Church St, it won’t be repaved until the streetscape project is done sometime later this year.

  4. Why is the church/daycare at the corner of Erie and Clairemont so against the Clairemont elementary folks parking there? I’ve been taking kids there for years and have never had an issue parking…ie…if, over the course of half a decade, I’m not having a problem finding a spot there I can’t imagine they are either. There cannot be more than a 15-20 minute window of parents dropping off kids at the elementary school and, while I know each individual car is spending upwards of 4 minutes parked before moving on, I still never, never, never see it full to the point that nobody can park in that 15-20 minute window and thus must go elsewhere.

    I’ll respect their wishes and not park there, but it seems petty and not very “community” like.

    1. Same thing happened at Mead/College – the church closed off the parking lot over a week ago.
      I believe this was due to Imperial patron parking, but we were worried about it impacting Oakhurst parents.
      All seems well though, since there was Oakhurst parent parking there during the meet and greet, so it looks like it was just the bar parking they didn’t like.

      I have noticed less traffic/parking parents this year, which must be due to Lenox Park being sent to Westchester.

    3. The church in question is the Lutheran Church of the Messiah and, as I understand it, parents dropping off children for Smarties (the daycare that is inside the church) have been having trouble navigating in and out of the parking lot as well as finding parking, which I certainly understand.

      I am a Clairemont parent myself, and I have to say I have been embarrassed by the degree to which other school parents are disrespectful and dismissive of the neighboring residents and institutions – parking in front of driveways, *in the middle of the intersection* at Michigan and Erie, blocking buses, narrowly missing cyclists, walkers, etc.

      If I were a parent with a child at Smarties, I would be unhappy to be paying for childcare at a church and then be blocked from using the church’s parking lot. It’s the church’s lot, they had been letting people park there until it became a problem, I think it’s certainly reasonable for them to protect space for the children enrolled there, infant through preschoolers, at the expense of older children attending a public school down the street. Community is – or should be – a two-way effort.

      For the past two years since my daughter has attended Clairemont, I have often parked (not on Michigan – on a side street further away – as requested by the school administration) and I have also never had a problem finding a space, even when close to the school start time.

      1. “If I were a parent with a child at Smarties, I would be unhappy to be paying for childcare at a church and then be blocked from using the church’s parking lot. It’s the church’s lot, they had been letting people park there until it became a problem, I think it’s certainly reasonable for them to protect space for the children enrolled there, infant through preschoolers, at the expense of older children attending a public school down the street.”

        I contend I have never seen an inability to park there. That being said It’s their parking lot so they can do what they want with it of course.

        “Community is – or should be – a two-way effort.”

        Agree, which is why I won’t be parking there anymore per their request. But wouldn’t sharing be more community like than not?

        Just seems silly and petty to me, but I like said, I’ll respect their wishes.

        1. Your perception of there being a lack of a problem versus their experience of having to navigate around the parking parents may just be slightly different. Kinda like the perception difference I had last year when I made the mistake of driving down Michigan at school pick-up time. Admittedly, I made the mistake of actually stopping at the stop sign at Erie but, really, I didn’t perceive that to be such an intrusion on the SUV driving mama bear behind me that it would cause her to lay on her horn and request with her middle finger that I hurry the fu*k up so she could pick up her precious baby.

          2. never get between a mamma bear and her cubs. or a mamma dog and her puppies, in this case.

  6. They started de-constructing the stagnant house at the corner of East Lake and 2nd Ave. this morning. Thank God.

    2. I noticed that yesterday it had gone from two storeys back down to one.

      What’s going on there? Permitting/code issue? (sorry if this is common knowledge)

      1. Can’t help but think HA! for these developers who practice “beg for forgiveness rather than ask for permission”. Going to drive by and partake.
        Sadly, I’m sure the costs will be borne by us consumers.

        1. Of course the cost will be borne by the consumers. So many of these houses are in such bad shape that you don’t really know the condition of the bones until you remove the exterior siding and interior drywall. So, what’s a builder to do? Risk having the project put on hold indefinitely so that all the studs can be permitted to be replaced instead of the originally guessed 75%, or just say from the get-go “demolish it, so we can start with known quantities that can be accurately projected”?

          1. I don’t know what’s up with that particular house, but sometimes a builder will secure a renovation permit (instead of complete demolition) in order to be grandfathered in on the footprint (instead of having to seek variances for setbacks and/or lot coverage that don’t conform to current requirements). Then they stealthily do a complete demo anyway. I watched it happen more than once.

      2. We heard from a neighbor that the original permit was only for a “partial” teardown and then they basically over stepped that permit so then had to go back to get another one. Not sure of the current status but I know I wouldn’t want to buy the house if they didn’t redo all that wood work!

  8. 8 days and counting to this years festival – thought we would share some basic information

    Tickets – pre-event $ 10 / day of $ 15

    Cash or Credit – we will have 4 ATM machines on site, but also be taking credit cards via square at both entry gates, in addition merchandise tent will take credit cards

    Surface – we are laying down 4000 + square feet of astro turf, and renting some misting fans. People are encouraged to bring chairs and blankets, but NO coolers

    Street closings – only a small section of Mead will be closed between Matador and Oakview – all other roads are open (Oakview, East Lake)

    Festival hours 12pm – 8pm

    http://www.decaturbbqfestival.com

    We will be at this Monday’s ONA meeting (7pm – Solarium) to share updates, festival map and answer any questions.

  10. Cable bill rant
    For some time now my cable / internet bill has been over $200. I only have (2) tv’s on it and (2) DVRs basic cable with maybe the middle of the road level of channels. I have internet as well. All of this runs through Comcast in one of the bundle packages. I need help to reduce this, it just seems crazy to spend that much a month. Maybe I have just been in out of touch but that just seems crazy. I know many people use Netflix or Hulu. Also my package is a bundle of tv, phone (that I never use and do not even know my number) and internet – the pitch was that it was less to purchase the package. I need help, there must be a way to get this under control. I just want to shut it all down but know that it would only last a few months before the family would kill me for doing it. I welcome the thoughts of the masses or suggestions for alternate sources.

    1. $200 is pretty much the norm for cable and internet. I too have a home phone that I never use, but my bill would go up if I got rid of the phone line.

      If you aren’t under contract, terminate and sign up for a new 2 year deal. Your bill should go down. But, you will need to delete your cookies on your computer if you have ever signed into Comcast or you won’t be able to see the specials for “new” customers.

    2. just be sure to record that call to Comcast asking to turn off your account — sure to be entertaining. they will likely offer you some new package that is less expensive, and will even throw in some premium channels or service for free. the catch we’ve found is that those “freebies” have a time period, and when that burns off, we’re back to paying more than we were before the call. so we start the process over about every year or so. Our monthly bill is under $200 but we don’t have the DVR service.

      funny. we also have an unused Comast phone line. Someday, AT&T, we’re going let you go…

      1. This all just seems crazy from time to time I look at the cable, cell phone, internet and all the other bills our parents never had each month. Frustrated that they really have you by the you know what on this these days. I looked at basic internet and it is still over $70 or so to get any type of speed. Maybe a cost I cannot reduce but am quite frustrated by it at the moment.

        1. This is why, every time I think about ditching our Earthlink DSL (which I have had since the Mindspring days!) I decide against it. The speed isn’t lightning fast, but it’s not bad (unless there are more than three devices using WiFi), it’s less than $50 a month, and there’s no data cap, which would be a problem in our house full of You Tube and Netflix junkies.

          We pay about $75/month for Dish Network – that’s for one TV, local channels, and the lowest tier of channels with HD and DVR, no premium channels. I think that is outrageous – we watch maybe ten channels on a semi-regular basis. I get Comcast and UVerse offers all the time but trying to figure whether an internet/TV bundle through one of them would work out to be cheaper in the long run makes my brain hurt, and the thought of all the hassle involved in switching internet and TV providers….I just keep on with what I got.

          1. Decatur Mom, do a google search for Dish Network Welcome Package. I was going to drop Dish a couple of years ago (due to cost/not watching all the channels) and was offered this to stay. Currently about $20/month, a number of good channels and a free monthly trial of other channels. YMMV.

    3. I’m definitely not a fan of Comcast in any way and would gladly dump them in a heartbeat if I weren’t so lazy. I can tell you that we have every channel except “The Movie Channel,” whole house DVR, pretty-fast internet and home phone. We pay a little less than $190. I still feel that even this is too much but since so many great shows are on HBO and Showtime, we just suck it up and pay for many channels we never, ever view.

      1. Did you have prior Comcast service before you got the whole house DVR equipment? I’d like to negotiate for that w/ them for our next renewal (or departure), and just wondered about others’ sucess with that. Anyone else also have feedback on the X1/whole house DVR experience with Comcast?

        1. We got this deal as a special when we first moved to Decatur. It was going to go up but we called and they gave us the same deal again. We still don’t have the new “X1” though. They told us those are too hard to get. We have a horrible, antiquated DVR box that freezes and does all sorts of terrible, buggy things.

    4. spend the 6-8 hours it will take to actually quit their service totally. before they will even have it disconnected you will get a call from their repechage department offering you a much better deal than you can get from them without quitting.

    5. I also have Comcast but just for Internet/TV and my bill is about $165 a month. I do have HBO, Showtime and Cinemax but no Movie Channel. I still have a landline through AT&T and if you add that, it’s about $200 a month for all three. It is insane but since I like to watch live soccer, I’ve got to have cable. If you cut the cable and go the Hulu/Netflix route, access to live sports vanishes. And cable is the fastest game in town with regard to Internet. This is all the more reason why I desperately want Google Fiber to come to Decatur. If that happens, I would dump Comcast in a heartbeat. Google Fiber would provide much faster Internet speeds and more TV channels and it would be cheaper.

      1. there are plenty of less than legal options to watch sports on the net. especially the european ones. you didn’t hear of hahasport from me though.

    6. Uverse broadband 12 MB: $55
      Netflix: $8
      Amazon Prime (includes free 20day shipping): $8
      Tivo (to record HD antenna): $15
      ESPN3 (free with Uverse): $0
      Total: $86/month

      Where the Man really has you is sports, if that’s your thing.

      1. Borrow login details from parents for Uverse/Comcast /etc and you can stream ESPN, TNT, etc. via Roku or browser…

    7. These types of discussions are recurrent. And helpful. And confusing. Are there consultants out there to help make these decisions? Who are completely up to speed with all the options for telephone, TV, movies, internet, and all the combinations of above? Kind of like financial advisors or buyers’ real estate agents?

    8. I read a while ago that someone was trying to put a bill through congress that would let you pay for only the channels you wanted, instead of subsidizing a bunch of garbage. I really have no need for a hundred sports channels, the fishing channel, or watching baby deers get shot on a hunting channel (that made for some seriously disturbing channel surfing.). On the other hand, I like the history channel, food channels, and HGTV. But the expense for watching just a few channels occasionally is starting to be not worth the cost. But then of course we need the internet, so there’s that whole part of the equation. Frustrating indeed.

      1. The networks are a cartel. The economics are such the pay-per-channel won’t happen soon. They have the cable companies by the cojones.

        http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2013/09/27/226891181/episode-488-the-secret-history-of-your-cable-bill

  12. We’re looking for a builder/handyman who can put a room addition on a home. We can’t afford the bigger contractors (renewal, etc) but have no idea where to find someone who does smaller projects.

    And recs for a plumber would be appreciated too.

    2. I do that. Your savings over a design/build firm would come from you knowing almost exactly what you want and not requiring designers (only a draftsman for plans.) http://www.tablesawtales.blogspot.com is my occasionally updated blog w/ a past projects album.

    3. Philip Trapkin did an addition for me–great work, great guy, on budget/on time. 404-992-4030

    4. Call Rowan Carlson with Archetype Builders.
      http://www.archetypebuilders.com/portfolio.htm

  14. one other topic other than cable, does anyone know if you are allowed to have a well for irrigation drilled in your yard in Decatur?

    1. Last time I looked into it, I believe it was legal but that there were rules associated with where you put it in proximity to built structures.

    2. Don’t know the answer to that but you can have separate water service installed just for irrigation in which you don’t get charged for sewer.

  16. Looking for 3 tickets to the UGA v. Vanderbilt game in Athens on Oct. 4th. My Decatur High Junior is showing interest in attending UGA and wants to go to a game. I’ve never been to a game there so starting from scratch. I see tickets available on line, but looks like decent seats get pricey pretty quick. Email me at [email protected] if you prefer. Thanks!

  18. SAVE THE DATE! You are invited to Cub Scout Pack 175’s Annual Ice Cream Social on Sunday, August 17 at 3:00 PM at Glennwood Elementary School. Bring your family to join the fun and learn all about what cub scouting has to offer boys (Grade 1-5) and their families. For additional information about the pack, visit http://www.pack175decatur.com or email [email protected].

  20. If you’re the parent of a first- through fifth-grade boy, come join the madcap Scouting fun that is Decatur Cub Scout Pack 134!

    We’ll be hosting our annual back-to-school pool party on Sunday, August 10th, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Glenlake Pool. Come meet our Scouts, parents, and adult leaders, and learn what our Pack is all about. We’ll have free watermelon and ice cream, too.

    For more information, please contact our Cubmaster, Mike Rossi, at [email protected]. See you Sunday!

  22. Our Troop is still collecting produce for The Purple Farmers Market for delivery next week. We accept homegrown produce ( veggies, fruits, eggs).
    Please just email me at [email protected]
    Check out our write up from Dan at Decaturish
    http://www.decaturish.com/?s=Girl+scouts

    1. 25 years ago, I worked in a small consulting firm that had a BreakMate machine in the break room. Somebody delivered and changed out syrup packs and big carbonated tanks every week or two. It was the closest thing to a real fountain Coke I’d had in many years. Haven’t had anything as good since. I don’t know if Coke still offers BreakMate or not.

    2. Woody’s next to Piedmont Park on Monroe – best Cokes in town. Also like the Varsity.

    3. For a point of reference, what would you find objectionable about the fountain product in a McDonalds? Specifically, what would you consider a decent fountain pour.

  26. So, my bleeding heart compelled me to rescue a lost dog at Dearborn Park. Turns out she is a stratfordshire terrier. She is microchipped. But after repeated attempts to contact the owners, the chip monitoring company believes the adoption may have included wrong numbers. In any case, the owners can’t be found. Seems quite possible at this point that she was dumped at the park. This breed is in the pit family or something like that. Does anyone know of any organization that might help? I can’t foster her long for valid, personal reasons.

    1. Might try this organization > http://www.friendstotheforlorn.com/index.htm

      A friend volunteers and fosters rescues for them

      1. thanks for responding. I’ve contacted them and to quote, ‘we’re full with a huge waiting list.’ I’ll keep trying other avenues.

    2. The problem is that all the rescue organizations are stressed to capacity and it’s hard to find anyone to help when you do the right thing and rescue a dog like this on your own. It’s kind of sad, really. Take groups like FODA (Friends of DeKalb Animals) or Angels Among Us Pet Rescue – both do wonderful jobs saving many animals from local shelters. But call them about a dog you rescued from the street and they’re like “great, good job, but what do you want us to do?!?” So you’re stuck trying to re-home the dog yourself or bringing it to the shelter and hoping for the best. If anyone has info about groups who are more likely to help in situations like this, I’d love to hear about them.

      1. We have been in your shoes. We were walking our own dogs in a Dekalb county park and found an abandoned, starving, sweet dog. We had long donated to PAWS and immediately, and foolishly, thought we could take her there. Nope, everyone, everywhere is full.
        Only after getting her healthy and taking her daily to the dog park did we find, much to our great delight, a wonderful couple willing to take her as a companion to their own energetic pup. I am very happy with how it worked out in the end but was not so sure it wasn’t going to cost us a divorce and/or the life of one of our old dogs in the process.
        Long term the only answer I know of is education, spaying and neutering.
        Good luck to you, take the dog everywhere and let everyone know s/he needs a permanent home.

        1. That’s pretty much where we are at this very moment. She’s a sweet pup. But way too kooky for my old diabetic and geriatric dog. And just not a good fit for our home. I’ve been on the phone and emailing groups throughout the day. The response is basically the same. ‘Nothing we can do right now. Huge overpopulation. Long wait list. Please do everything you can to find her a home.’ I feel terrible for her. It’s clear she’s already been abused. We’ll keep trying.

          1. Good luck finding her a new home. We are filled up with special needs pups ourselves or else I’d offer to try to foster. Use social networking if you can. Cute pictures on facebook can work to shame your friends and family into helping out! Try the local listservs, too. You never know when one of your neighbors might step up. I bet you could even get DM to post a pic or two to help out…

    3. You probably did this already, but google the breed name with “atlanta rescue”- a group pops up. Sometimes the breed specific organizations are helpful.

  28. Perusing the CSD Free and Reduced Application this week I noticed that the threshold for a family of 4 to qualify is $44,123. A new teacher with a bachelor’s degree is paid $36,841 in Decatur, and one with a master’s degree earns $43,778. I watch the houses being torn down daily around my neighborhood, replaced with houses selling for 3 times what the tear down sold for, that must come equipped with a jog stroller on the porch because they all have them. Obviously some people are profiting from the quality of our schools that is drawing these young families here. Shouldn’t our teachers be paid a wage where they could in theory support a 4 person family of their own two children and not qualify for federal school lunch assistance?

    2. Any lay person who has tried to develop a lesson plan, spend a whole hour straight in a classroom, teaching, evaluating, measuring, diagnosing, keeping order, encouraging, motivating, and processing the daily paperwork, all at the same time, knows that we underpay our teachers. I’ve thought that since day 1 in preK. But I’ve given up on expecting things to improve. A few countries like Finland get education right, invest heavily in it, and have the educational successes to prove it. Not happening here. Now I just try to respond to every teacher request, write thank you notes, donate to DEF, and tell teachers that I worship the ground they walk on. But I admire your advocacy.

    4. Fair article on the subject:

      http://reason.com/archives/2014/07/25/are-teachers-underpaid-lets-find-out

      2. Cannot agree with the last line: “And teaching isn’t the first step toward sainthood. Regardless of what you’ve heard.” I haven’t just heard about the miracles that teachers have wrought, but I’ve observed them personally.

          2. Absolutely. That’s part of the problem–we don’t pay the saints enough and the slackards or downright incompetent stay in the system too long. However, I have to say that CSD does a pretty good job of not keeping those who can’t or won’t perform adequately. Not a perfect job–and many of us might agree on one or two examples, but a pretty good job compared to what I hear about elsewhere. I think you need to fit just right to be a good teacher for a particular grade level and subject. It’s amazing to me how many good fits we get. Then you have to work like a dog and love it.

    5. There’s a report over on Decaturish that CSD courtesy tuition is on the table now that Winnona Park and Oakhurst Elementary are almost at the point of overcrowded. I think that eliminating it would be a huge mistake in terms of retaining our greatest teachers. I know teachers who could easily move to higher salaries and/or lucrative admin positions in the huge school districts around us but stay in CSD because of better working conditions and the courtesy tuition. If people don’t believe that, then do the experiment and see what happens. I would much rather be stricter about which schools we place tuition students in, e.g. only the less crowded elementaries. Not that I think there will be less crowded elementaries for long. I can’t see how FAVE can stay a 4/5 much longer. It’s going to be needed as a full elementary school on the south side. Or can we still justify the 0-3 program in the ECLC? The ECLC has always been a favorite of mine but some of its original rationale was to serve babies/toddlers from low-income families as an educational enrichment strategy. Is there still much of a target population attending? I really don’t know.

      It’s amazing to me how schools shape the demographics and real estate of Decatur. When Westchester closed, the area became less desirable and Oakhurst became the new Clairemont. Now the Westchester area is becoming the new Oakhurst. I have a feeling that the movers and shakers in Decatur realized all this way before I did.

  30. This might seem like a pokin’ the bear question, but it’s offered sincerely. I swear.

    One of the complaints that comes up sometimes from people who don’t like increased downtown development is the “canyonization” of certain streets. Taking Ponce, for example, there are blocks where 4 and 5 story buildings rise on both sides, giving a frame to the view. This is seen as a bad thing.

    Today I was heading east on Ponce from the square. Approaching the block just after Church St., I noticed that the street trees all down the right side of the street are now basically the exact same height as the Town Center condos and their fullness creates what’s essentially a green wall all the way down the block. That got me thinking: I’ve never heard anyone complain about canyonization when it’s created by trees instead of buildings. Is it the canyon effect that bothers people or just the buildings themselves, because of whatever growth and change-related baggage they might represent?

    1. You aren’t poking the bear, it’s a valid question, especially with the changing culture in Decatur. We complain about “tree canyonization” at home. For example, why did Trees Atlanta plant a bunch of trees in front of that cool painted mural with the sea turtle, dolphin, etc. along Dekalb Ave?

      My outsider impression from my 6 years here: it’s definitely the latter of your question. The combination of reasons we’ve come up with for the Atlanta-area tree obsession are A) aversion to change, B) spite due to A; C) being an easy rallying point for those with an agenda in a regional culture that encourages an emotionally-driven approach; D) lack of coastline prevents Atlanta from being an East Coast city, so obsess over the one ubiquitous thing here to create a “unique” identity in a city not known for having one, E) because it’s the one thing they can control (similar to shaving your head), F) some weird subculture trying to pretend we live in the backwoods instead of a city.

      I also think it ties into the anti-development crowd focusing more on social political issues than economic and not understanding how these developments benefit us and why they’re necessary. A lot of times, many don’t seem to want to talk numbers, including some of the city staff… Cue someone telling me to move in 3, 2, 1…

      1. I am biased. I live in one of those “canyon-creating” buildings.

        I think canyonization is a word thrown out by anti-development folks. Different heights for different communities. The height limits in Decatur (buildings 335 Ponce and 755 Commerce being ugly old exceptions from our past) still allow light in and trees to grow, and have a reasonable ratio of retail frontage and above-retail residential height. Many walkable cities with livable neighborhoods (code word for “has sufficient retail that we can walk around and buy the stuff we want) have this model. Examples I’ve been to include Washington DC (and their buildings are more like 15-20 floors) and Berlin.

        Downtown Atlanta on Peachtree is a canyon. Manhattan is a grand canyon. Decatur is … a green gulch? I welcome it. And as you noted — the trees can still grow! Lest I sound like a concrete overlord, I also think such buildings should not be any higher and should stay ITC (inside-the-Commerce loop). The old courthouse and square also guarantee key open space in the middle of all this. That will not change.

        And it is about more than $. My familiy’s carbon footprint is several times smaller than a single family living in a 1940 bungalow (inefficient) or a Decatur-style McMansion (huge sf).

          1. I’m assuming he meant 315 W PdL – 335’s blue and white striped 10(?)-story neighbor.

        2. And you have children? Do they attend CSD? If so, you are violating the condos-don’t-have-children-and-must-generate-positive-revenue-for-City/CSD rule. Just kidding, of course. As Decatur single-family homes get priced out of the range of many families, we’ll see more and more children in condo homes. Not that finances is the only reason to buy a condo. I envy condo owners the lack of yard work and threats of falling trees. May join them soon.

  32. Tried new parking meter system today and it worked well. Loved the text reminder that time was almost up. Only glitch was that it seemed to be in “still processing” mode for a long time, to the point that I had to walk away to the appointment I was already late for, fingers crossed that the transaction went through and I hadn’t exposed myself to data theft. But all went well.

    1. When the meter is through processing it spits out a ticket with expiration time and tag number. You are to place it on the dashboard in your car. I’d say you walked away too soon,

        1. Hmmm and thanks – only used two times so far, and I was pretty sure the directions asked that to be done.

    2. Parkmobile, the app, works great. Especially makes me happy if it is raining or blazingly hot. Pay before I get out of my car. No fumbling at the kiosk or a meter, rooting around in my bag for change.

      1. But there’s a transaction fee, right? Went to http://www.parkmobile.com and am wondering what option, if any, is most reasonable.

        Question: With the old meters, if the meter ran out or if you exceeded the 2-hour parking limit, it was a matter of chance whether a meter person would come by in the right sequence of time to note the infraction and ticket you. With the meter, is the infraction more likely to be noted since there’s an electronic record? Hoping that I don’t need this knowledge but sometimes 2 hours can fly by when you’re having fun in Decatur without your noticing it.

        1. Yes, the transaction fee is thirty-five cents. If you buy an hour and then extend it for another hour you pay the transaction fee twice.
          As for the odds of getting caught, I have no idea.

          1. If they are anything like Park Atlanta, don’t go over the time limit! I see their meter people in Midtown all the time. They appear to be dispatched so they are waiting for about-to-expire cars (and if I were a commercial company managing parking meters, I’d do the same thing!). No idea if Decatur is that aggressive or if they have the infrastructure to even do this.

            1. Keep in mind that Park Atlanta is a contractor and has incentive to increase revenue any way they can. Decatur is a municipal operation run with City employees.

          2. Ok, here’s the really dumb question. If I do this by phone app, or even in person at a kiosk that serves 20 meters, how does the meter worker know that I paid? Because I put my license info into the system and they are able to pull that up instantaneously to check? Does the data system really work that fast and that well? If so, why can’t the data systems at work function that well? 🙂

        2. My understanding is that there is only a fee if you pay thought the app. You can pay at the meter for your initial time (without a fee) and if you need to add time remotely through the app then there will be a transaction fee. If you don’t want to walk to the meter in the first place you can just pay through the app but there will be a fee. I have only used coins in the Decatur meters however this is how the payments work for other of locations of ParkMobile.

          1. Ok, so it makes sense to get the app in case you ever want to use the remote option to load or reload the meter, e.g. it’s hyper-pouring rain like last Friday. But if you choose not to use it for a particular transaction, and load/reload manually instead, you are not charged.

      2. But there’s a transaction fee, right? Went to Parkmobile app and am wondering what option, if any, is most reasonable.

        Question: With the old meters, if the meter ran out or if you exceeded the 2-hour parking limit, it was a matter of chance whether a meter person would come by in the right sequence of time to note the infraction and ticket you. With the meter, is the infraction more likely to be noted since there’s an electronic record? Hoping that I don’t need this knowledge but sometimes 2 hours can fly by when you’re having fun in Decatur without your noticing it.

Comments are closed.