Residents and visitors alike have long complained about PARKAtlanta's enforcement practices.

Residents and visitors alike have long complained about PARKAtlanta's enforcement practices. / Flickr

 

 

A measure aimed at barring Georgia cities from using private parking contractors failed to make it through the House State Planning & Community Affairs Committee Monday.

SR 809, sponsored by Sen. Vincent Fort (D-Atlanta), called for a constitutional amendment banning contracts with private parking enforcement companies whose profits are tied to the amount they collect in parking fines.

The legislation came after years of complaints about PARKAtlanta, the company that has managed the city’s parking operations since 2009.

Fort said his bill specifically targeted PARKAtlanta, whose ticketing practices he called “predatory.”

Even though his bill died in the House, Fort said he’s not done fighting.

 

“I'm going to fight PARKAtlanta until Hell freezes over,” Fort said. “And then I'm going to fight them on the ice.”

He might not have much longer to fight: PARKAtlanta’s contract with the city is set to expire later this year.