One weather-related benefit: You probably won't get a ticket for not feeding a parking meter, if you can find a space that's not taken by snow.

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 Tuesday.

"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.

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.

First Published: February 10, 2010, 5:00 a.m.