View Full Version : New age parking meters downtown



Patrick
01-13-2005, 01:36 AM
Hmmmm...I find it interesting that downtownguy brought this up in his blog awhile back (these type of meteres were being installed in Tulsa), and now Dave Lopez is stating that they're being installed here. Hmmmm.....does Dave Lopez happen to be on this site? lol! If so, we welcome you!

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"City takes parking meters into electronics age
by Heidi R. Centrella
The Journal Record
1/13/2005


Journal Record Photo
The country's first parking meter was invented and installed in Oklahoma City. Soon the city will install a new and improved variety along downtown streets, lending drivers multiple payment options - from debit cards to cell phones.
The parking meter pilot program is scheduled to be in place later this year.

Central Oklahoma Transportation and Parking Authority officials will meet with vendor Reino Parking Systems next week to discuss costs and the various options for four new meters that will be installed in the Central Business District.

"Parking and meter enforcement has been an issue," said David Lopez, Downtown OKC executive director. "We want to see what we can do to address that to make it as customer-friendly as possible."

Each meter will provide service for 10 spaces. Metro Transit Marketing Manager Amy Ford said COTPA officials are looking at cities such as Boston and Detroit as they develop a marketing plan to educate the public on how to use the meters.

"With technology these days, the meters can do just about anything you want them to," Ford said.

Features include accepting credit cards, debit cards, charging a cell phone account and notifying a person via PDA that their time is about to expire. But Ford said until costs are calculated, downtown's new gadgets won't necessarily include all available options.

One deciding factor behind the upgrade, Ford said, was the reality that a lot of people simply don't carry cash anymore - rather they pay with debit cards and the like.

Lopez said the new meters will provide a way to not only modernize the existing system, but also aid in enforcement.

"As we have more retail, you want that turnover on the street-level parking, you don't want somebody there all day," Lopez said.

COTPA's Ford said the time limit on the meters, as it has been set up by the city, will not change. But it will be tracked and monitored "a little bit differently," she said.

"Someone could, potentially, monitor it remotely," Ford said. "If we had the manpower and capability and chose that feature, where it's all electronic and showed up on a computer that a meter has expired.

"So we're going to work hard with enforcement, but the most important thing is education," Ford said. "This is going to be a new way for people to park in downtown Oklahoma City. We'll be educating building owners, educating employees, educating everyone to tell people who frequently visit downtown about this new method."

Midtowner
01-13-2005, 06:57 AM
I wish they'd get on it. They've closed down about half the meters near the courthouse. I need them back!

metro
01-13-2005, 09:20 AM
awesome

Patrick
01-13-2005, 02:42 PM
I think the parking meters near the court house were closed due to security issues, post- April 19th, and post 9-11!

metro
01-13-2005, 02:49 PM
yeah i don't think technology closed those parking meters

Midtowner
01-13-2005, 03:03 PM
I think the parking meters near the court house were closed due to security issues, post- April 19th, and post 9-11!

If so, it would be very strange. They were removed in October of '04 (or around that time).

The more I think about these high-tech meters, the more I worry. Is cheap parking downtown soon to become a thing of the past? I know that one thing holding the city back from raising meter prices was the expense of retooling all of the current meters and the fact that citizens would then have to carry more change.

I think $2.00 (which is what the COTPA garage by the court house charges) is a bit stiff for running inside for 15 minutes to file something. If this happens, and I imagine it will, I would expect street parking to go for around the same price -- $2.00.

renffahcs
01-13-2005, 03:22 PM
Parking at the mall is free. How do meters help a downtown compete in any way?? Get'em all outta there!! I hate meters!!

Midtowner
01-13-2005, 03:25 PM
Parking at the mall is free. How do meters help a downtown compete in any way?? Get'em all outta there!! I hate meters!!

I don't believe that they would be there to help our downtown compete. They would be there to fleece those that decide to park on the streets.

renffahcs
01-13-2005, 03:30 PM
Thats my point, why get fleeced downtown when parking at the mall is free. Meters put downtowns at a disadvantage vs the sprawl area of town.

Patrick
01-13-2005, 03:31 PM
The city doesn't really make much money off parking meters, especially after expenses for the devices and paying meter maids to service them. It's more of way to control who parks where. Also, it makes closer parking places more valuable.

Patrick
01-13-2005, 03:38 PM
I we didn't have parking meters, we'd have downtown employees lining up for closer parking places, and swarming the streets looking for an open spot. It would be a mess. Having parking meters limits the time people can park in a place, thus encouraging downtown employees and others who are staying there longer to park in the parking garages.

It also allows easy access for those dropping off something at a street side business, without having people park there who are going to be downtown all day. If you're just going to go into Taylor News for 30 minutes, you probably don't want to go through the hassle of parking in a garage. But, if a downtown employee is hogging the spot for 8 hours, it's detrimental to the life of downtown business.

SoundMind
01-13-2005, 04:43 PM
I agree Patrick. Although all of us would love to have free parking downtown, I just don't think it's reality. Every major downtown area charges for parking.

With the number of employees that work downtown, it would be a disaster if those parking spaces were made free. Also, free street-side parking would encourage downtown workers to park there, thus not leaving any parking available for street side shops and restaurants.

Midtowner
01-13-2005, 04:45 PM
I we didn't have parking meters, we'd have downtown employees lining up for closer parking places, and swarming the streets looking for an open spot. It would be a mess. Having parking meters limits the time people can park in a place, thus encouraging downtown employees and others who are staying there longer to park in the parking garages.

It also allows easy access for those dropping off something at a street side business, without having people park there who are going to be downtown all day. If you're just going to go into Taylor News for 30 minutes, you probably don't want to go through the hassle of parking in a garage. But, if a downtown employee is hogging the spot for 8 hours, it's detrimental to the life of downtown business.

Concur.

However, if you think going to an electronic system won't cause rates to go up, you're deluded. At first, it'll be to pay for the cost of the system itself. Next, it'll be another thing. Incrementalism is something our city and state governments are both quite good at.

SoundMind
01-13-2005, 04:52 PM
I don't see the point of the new parking meters. The old ones seem to work fine. Does someone really want to charge a $0.75 parking charge to their credit card? I don't think so.

windowphobe
01-13-2005, 07:25 PM
Even fast-food joints take Visa and MasterCard these days.

And if I use my Visa check card, it's not going to incur any interest charges. Put me down as in favor of this.

renffahcs
01-13-2005, 08:55 PM
Quote Patrick

"I we didn't have parking meters, we'd have downtown employees lining up for closer parking places, and swarming the streets looking for an open spot. It would be a mess."


Great point Patrick!!! That is why you make all the BIG BUCKS. In Fort Worth nights and weekends are free. Will this or is this be the case in OKC???

Patrick
01-13-2005, 09:14 PM
Actually nights and weekends are free in Oklahoma City. Parking meters are only serviced during business hours, Monday thru Friday.

Sooner&RiceGrad
01-13-2005, 09:31 PM
They are in on Campus Corner, I didn't know downtown was like that too.

Midtowner
01-13-2005, 09:41 PM
I don't see the point of the new parking meters. The old ones seem to work fine. Does someone really want to charge a $0.75 parking charge to their credit card? I don't think so.

As I said before, I highly doubt we'll be able to park as cheaply as $.75 if these things ever go in.

I'm guessing a minimum of $2.00 to park in high-traffic areas and $1.00 to park in low traffic areas.

They'll definitely take advantage of the fact that you don't have to carry around coins. And hey, they have to pay for these meters somehow.

I don't think new technology for the sake of new technology is ever a good idea. Unfortunately, it appears that the city leaders disagree with me.