Pittsburgh Parking Authority enforcement officers have been given the week off because many street meters are unreachable or temporarily inoperable, agency Executive Director David Onorato said today.

"There's no work for them," Mr. Onorato said of the 20 full-time officers and around a dozen part-timers. "The way the snow's piled up, the public can't get to the meters, either."

His collectors and ticket writers "can't roll the [coin collection] cans around, and the meters are half-frozen."

The officers can use accumulated vacation or sick time, or take unpaid leave, he said.

Asked if this essentially means that parking is free at city meters, he said, "If you can park, yes." He added that many neighborhood street spaces are piled high with plowed snow.

Police also can write parking tickets and the absence of parking enforcement officers does not mean cars can park in tow-away zones or violate time restrictions for on-street parking.

Yesterday, the 11 parking enforcement officers spread salt at Downtown garages, but a union steward threatened to file a labor relations charge.

Mr. Onorato said he did not think most of the officers objected to the one-day change in role.

"I explained the situation to them and asked them" to spread salt, he said. "With the state of emergency that we're in right now, unions, as the mayor said, are crossing over to assist one another."

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