New parking pay stations to arrive Feb. 20
City on track to reinstate metered parking by March
The council at its Feb. 6 meeting approved an award for a contract for new parking pay stations, putting the city on track to receive new stations by Feb. 20 and reinstate metered parking by March 1.
Free three-hour parking has been in effect downtown and at the waterfront since Hurricane Sandy damaged 57 of the city’s 100 pay stations in October 2012.
The cost of replacing those 57 stations with newer models is $789,008, Cunha said. The new models have a more user-friendly lighting system. The older model is no longer available for purchase.
Delivery of the new units should start the weekend of Feb. 20, Cunha said. The department of public works [DPW] have started removing the non-functioning units, and are almost done.
The city’s pay stations use solar panels for backup power. The DPW will leave the existing solar panels up for now to see if any are still functional before they install new ones, Cunha said.
Normally, parking costs $1 per hour in most areas, or $2 per hour in the spots closest to the beach front. But since Hurricane Sandy, parking has been free for three-hour periods.
Many business owners eagerly await the parking stations in the downtown and waterfront areas, saying business has been hurt due to customers and residents leaving their cars in the same spot for long periods of time.
“I’m used to having my Voicemail and inbox full with messages about parking,” Mayor Ed Johnson said. “Now, the messages are demanding us to put the meter system back up so we can create customer turnover.”
The city’s parking utility raised $1.8 million in 2012, Cunha said.
