City Parking Lot Goes Back to Meters After Box Fails to Please

By Christina Georgiou

The parking payment kiosk at Easton's South Third Street
municipal parking lot is covered and awaits removal after
drawing complaints from the public. Individual smart
meters have replaced the unpopular payment station system.

The city parking lot on the east side of South Third Street has gone back to using individual meters for each of its 22 parking spots after the new box to administer the whole lot failed to impress parkers.

The box, which accepted credit and debit cards, as well as cash, and produced a printed receipt that patrons were require to display as proof of payment on their cars, had been installed for a two-month trial period and will go back to the manufacturer, said City Administrator Glenn Steckman.

"We were getting mixed reviews," he said, adding that complaints included people not liking the inconvenience of having to walk back to their cars, opining the system was complicated and confusing, that the machine was difficult to read, and that the machine was slow to process card payments and generate the required receipt.

"From my personal standpoint, I think the boxes are more efficient for the city, but we listened to what our customers were saying," Steckman said.

He estimated the single payment station would have saved the city about $1,000 annually in operating costs over smart meters that accept card payments, which is what has replaced the unpopular box.

Removing the parking payment station won't cost the city more, as the money that would have been spent on its purchase was reallocated by city council to pay for the new smart meters in that location, and the box had been installed on a trial basis offer from the company that offers it.

"We leased it (on a trial basis) at a very, very low rate," Steckman said.

The city administrator added the city may try out the single payment station method again at other municipal lot locations in the future, but those will probably not be from the same company that produced the one being removed.

Where the system might be tried again is undetermined, though it's possible one could appear next year at the city's new 20-spot lot on North Fourth Street.

That lot, which has long term, 10-hour parking limit, is planned this year to have individual meters that only accept quarters. City officials have cited the costs of card-accepting smart meters as being a barrier to their immediate implemenation at the new lot.

Steckman said the solar-powered new smart meters, which also accept all denominations of silver coins, cost $495 apiece, versus the quarter-only meters, which cost $180 each.

The city's new lot may eventually get a more versatile payment system though, whether another payment station trial or card-accepting smart meters. It depends on the amount of revenue the new lot generates and if the city determines it to be cost-effective, the city administrator said, adding that since the location is new, it's too early to tell.

"We need to look at the whole year, not just a couple of months," he said.

The new smart meters were installed earlier this year, coincident with a rise rates for curbside metered parking from 50 cents to one dollar per hour.

The rate of parking in the city's parking deck has not changed, and the city is offering discounted evening rates in the deck as well in an effort to encourage locals and employees to park there more frequently during peak city visiting hours.

New Downtown Parking Lot Won't Get Smart Meters This Year

By Christina Georgiou

The City of Easton's newly acquired parking lot on North Fourth Street will likely open by June, but patrons of the lot will need to bring an ample supply of quarters if they intend to take advantage of the 10-hour time limit.

That's because Easton officials said at last week's city council meeting that they don't have enough smart meters, which accept credit and debit card payments, to spare to cover the 40 spaces the new lot will provide.

It will cost $20,000 to purchase enough of the solar-powered devices to furnish the new lot with the smart meters, as they are $500 apiece, said Mayor Sal Panto.

"We wanted to put them in there, but we just don't have the cash," the mayor said.

At the $1 per hour rate, those parking in the new lot will need an entire roll of quarters to take full advantage of long-term parking in that location. There are few shops in the immediate vicinity to provide the coins too, though it's doubtful most  merchants regularly carry that many to give out.

City administrator Glenn Steckman said it's possible a few spare smart meters might be reallocated to the lot this year.

"Right now, we could probably do a handful (of parking spots)," he said.

Adding a multi-spot payment box that does take card payments is a vague possibility at some point in the future, but Steckman said he doubts that is an ideal solution.

"After what we went through with the multi-space box on South Third Street, I'm not sure," he said. "I will tell you that we may come back next year and ask for more credit card meters, but it probably won't (cover all the places Downtown they're wanted.)...We'd like to do this in phases."

Steckman suggested a solution for the new parking lot on North Fourth Street for now might be to rely on it less for city visitor parking.

"We may also recommend that part of this lot be converted into a residential permit parking lot, and that would help," he said.

Steckman said that the current residential parking permit system allows residents to park on the street, where there are smart meters, and the city loses revenue when that happens.

"If a spot is being parked at by someone with a (annual) $100 residential permit, there's no revenue from that meter for a day or two," he said.

Credit and debit card payments at curbside meters are providing a substantial amount of revenue for the city, Steckman said, adding that $10,471 was collected via the method last month.

Panto noted that the annual rate for Downtown residential parking permits hasn't been raised in about 25 years. He also suggested the system should be changed to allow permit holders to park anywhere in the Downtown district, instead of specific zones, as the system currently allows.

"Originally, the program zoned based on where people were living, but now people are living everywhere Downtown, and some of them can't park," Panto said.

The mayor also said the city needs to put more effort into getting the word out about its new parking program for those employed Downtown in the evenings, which provides workers a discounted rate of 50 cents an hour in the parking deck on South Third Street after 5 p.m.