Title
Agenda Item:
Parking Pay Station Replacement Process - Status Report
Body
Issue:
Briefing to Council on the project to replace the parking pay stations with single-space, credit card capable meters.
Committee Recommendation:
Not referred to a committee.
City Manager’s Recommendation:
Concur with the public involvement and replacement processes outlined by staff.
Staff Contact:
Keith Stahley, Community Planning and Development Director, 360.753.8227
Presenters:
Karen Kenneson, Business Manager, Community Planning and Development
Keith Stahley, Community Planning and Development Director
Background and Analysis:
In July of 2010 the City installed multi-space pay and display parking pay stations in the downtown core of Olympia moving to two-hour paid parking in areas that were previously regulated with 90-minute timed free parking. Over this 2 and 1/2 year period the pay stations have proven that they are not the right choice for managing parking in Olympia. Customers have found them to be inconvenient and difficult to use, they have not been reliable, and they have high maintenance and operating costs compared to single-space meters. The pay stations were chosen, in part, to provide customer payment options with credit or debit cards in addition to coins, remote programming, and electronic usage and data analysis. Single-space credit card capable parking meters have become more mainstream and have been tested and in use nationwide by many large cities. Advances in technology have made these meters more commonplace, reliable and affordable with the type of payment and data options we were seeking.
In summer 2012, the City was approached by IPS Meters to do a free trial of single-space credit card capable parking meters. We installed 36 of these meters in various 3-hour meter locations. We received overwhelmingly positive feedback from customers regarding the convenience of paying by credit or debit card and ease of using the new meters. Other benefits ...
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