Champaign tests credit-card parking meters downtown
CHAMPAIGN — If you have ever been short on change for the parking meter in downtown Champaign, that could become a problem of the past with new technology city officials will begin testing today (Thursday, Oct. 13).
The city will have 37 new parking meters installed along Walnut Street and Chester Street by noon today, and each will accept credit and debit cards in addition to the traditional coin slots.
The meters will remain in place until at least April for the trial program, during which city officials hope to gauge drivers' reactions. The city is only leasing the parking meters for six months, but if city officials deem them successful, they could become permanent.
"Customer input is definitely going to play a key role if at the end of the trial period we decide to extend the program or stop it," said administrative services supervisor Stacy Rachel.
An online survey has been set up for users to submit their comments.
"Definitely, we're looking for as much positive or even negative comments as we can get," Rachel said.
The city council voted 6-2 in July to OK the $5,500 trial program. If, at the end of six months, the city council decides it wants to purchase 176 meters for the downtown area and a portion of Campustown, that order is expected to cost $130,000 in the first year and $21,000 annually thereafter for maintenance and other related charges.
The "smart meters" present some benefits for city officials: The expensive battery packs recharge on solar power and only need to be replaced every three years, as opposed to the batteries in the existing meters, which need to be replaced annually.
And the smart meter will send a text message to city officials whenever the meter itself has malfunctioned, so response time to fix broken meters should be cut.
Rachel said parking enforcement officers will be in the area today to assist users with any questions or problems, and affixed to each meter will be an instruction card.
Hope these meters also accept the parking meter cash keys they had a buy and fill with money. Not averse to credit cards, but they should pick one and stick with it. And if they want us to change from key to card, they sure better be willing to refund us the money we put on our cash keys!
This "test" benefits no one except the city since the labor costs are greatly diminished from the standpoint of coin-counting and coin gathering.
Not known to the taxpayer are:
taxpayer cost of installation
lost expenses of replaced/liquidated coin-op meter heads
cost to the public who is forced to use a debit card and be charged $1.50 to spend 25 cents
on a meter????????
Yesterday I parked on Walnut at at 5:30 PM and got out with my Cashkey in hand. I stood in front of the "Smart Meter," for about a minute trying to find the Cashkey hole. I couldn't find one. I had three quarters in my pocket, so I used them. Later I came back and used my credit card. The charge was $.75. I'm not going to have 75 cent charges on my credit card, that's pretty silly. After dark it's very difficult to read the tiny LCD numbers on the meter. My alternatives are to park in front of a "Dumb Meter," or carry a bunch of quarters around like I used to. Are the new meters going to be smart enough to accept a Cashkey?
Comments
News-Gazette.com embraces discussion of both community and world issues. We welcome you to contribute your ideas, opinions and comments, but we ask that you avoid personal attacks, vulgarity and hate speech. We reserve the right to remove any comment at our discretion, and we will block repeat offenders' accounts. To post comments, you must first be a registered user, and your username will appear with any comment you post. Happy posting.