Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — A city councilwoman had a parking meter space removed outside her home within hours of her vehicle being immobilized by the concessionaire, sparking questions about preferential treatment and the company’s compliance with municipal agreements.
On Thursday morning, workers for Playaparq, the company that operates Playa del Carmen’s parking meter system, placed a boot on one of Councilwoman Josefina “Polaka” Muza Simón’s three SUVs, which was parked in a metered spot on the street in front of her home in the Zazil Ha neighborhood. By afternoon, that specific parking space had been painted over with black paint, effectively canceling it, while all other metered spots on the block remained active.
Playaparq had recently repainted several blocks of Zazil Ha, starting from Avenida 10, with metered parking spaces, reclaiming an area that falls within its concession but where meters had previously been removed by agreement with the municipality. Municipal sources confirmed the company acted unilaterally without prior consultation.
Neighbors said Muza Simón regularly parks one of her three vehicles on the street because her garage only fits two. The booting of her SUV quickly drew attention, making the expansion of metered parking into the residential area public knowledge.
It remains unclear who ordered the space painted over — Playaparq or the city — and through whose mediation the change was made, which applies only to the spot in front of the councilwoman’s house.
Javier Renán Santos Morales, the city councilor who chairs the Mobility Commission, said he was unaware whether previous agreements to exempt certain residential areas from meters were still being honored. He added that Playaparq had not approached his commission to discuss the situation.
Multiple municipal sources confirmed that while the streets are within the concession zone, the company was required to coordinate with the Mobility and Transit departments before installing any new metered spaces — a step it did not take.
In a Facebook statement, Playaparq clarified that a photo used by several media outlets to illustrate the booting of the councilwoman’s vehicle was from an incident on May 4, not the current one. The company also denied that the city had taken any action against it.
Unanswered Questions About Playaparq
The parking meter concession, approved during the administration of former mayor Cristina Torres and implemented under Laura Beristain, covers the downtown area from the beach to Avenida 35. In exchange, Playaparq is required to pay a percentage of revenue to the city and provide a bicycle rental service called Biciplaya, which was discontinued on March 31, according to its Facebook page.
Santos Morales previously said a Playaparq representative told him the company had lost several concession spaces due to a bike lane installed on Avenida 10, adding to those already removed by mutual agreement with the municipality.
