Target 11 Investigator Rick Earle recently spotted a woman feeding a meter on Tech Drive at Carnegie Mellon University around 7 p.m. He warned her that she was just wasting her money.

“You don’t have to feed the meter. We are from Channel 11. The city has failed to change these signs. It should say 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., not 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.,” Earle said.

“I didn't know there was a change. That’s good to know. I won't put my money in there, then,” Ashley Kidd responded. 

But we were too late for another student who parked his car after 7, fed the meter and headed to the gym to work out. 

We talked to him after he already deposited his quarters. He had no idea the enforcement ended at 6 p.m. 

“No, not at all. I've been paying to 10 p.m. for seven or eight months. I just thought you had to. I don't want to get a ticket. I've gotten enough in my time,” said Michael Campayno, a drama student at Carnegie Mellon University.

Last June, in an effort to raise revenue, the city expanded enforcement hours from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. But after complaints from drivers and business owners, council voted in September to return to 6 p.m.

That was eight months ago, yet some of the signs haven’t been changed. So we wanted to know what the big holdup is.

Public Works Director Rob Kazorowski told Target 11 he had thousands of signs to change and he said he just didn’t have the manpower to do it all at one time. He said the same city workers are also busy patching pot holes, painting lines and cutting grass. 

Kazorowski said he waited until the spring because he didn’t want the change the stickers during the winter months for fear that they wouldn’t adhere to the signs.

Kazorowski said most of the signs have been fixed, and he said if a complaint comes in he sends a crew out to change the signs.    

But Councilman Bill Peduto told Target 11 he doesn’t understand why the process took so long.

“You would think it would take nine days, not nine months to put up a few stickers,” said Peduto.

On a recent evening, Target 11 discovered signs near CMU, Schenley Park and on Bigelow Boulevard that still hadn’t been changed. Target 11 watched as people continued to feed the meters, obvious oblivious to the change in regulations.

While the city hasn’t tracked how much money those outdated signs brought in, Target 11 did the math for one meter at CMU where one quarter gets seven-and-a-half minutes.  

Just this one meter had the potential to bring in $1,200 when it was supposed to be free to park.

“This is money that we shouldn't be taking. This is money that is rightfully not ours. This is money people shouldn't have to be paying and all it takes is a sticker change in order to make it fair, “ said Peduto.