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Parking Meters Out

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Started 2 years ago by nexttuesday
Latest reply from pez

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Roland
Clintonville
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Tenzo wrote >>
I have to say, these new meters are going up at an amazing rate. I never see them being installed but I see 100's of new ones every day.
It's a shame that there seems to be a flaw in all the new meters going up. Putting in all new meters does not seem to make sense anyway.
It's not like the new meters are nice. To me they are a fricken eye sore. Before the meters blended in with the streets so you didn't really see them. Now the meters are like someone put shiny tin foil on each one. I think Columbus should have done what cities do by putting in placing a common box on every block. Less eyesore, more natural and and less parts that can break and not work right. Plus if one breaks, you use another.
(Sorry for the interruption, feel free to go back to the sniping)

I completely agree. I was surprised that Columbus went with this option.

Posted 2 years ago #
Tenzo
Chicago Lakeshore
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In Chicago:

The METRO Pay and Display Parking Meter is a self-service ticketing machine used to control parking space availability in a variety of car parking environments. These smart parking meters provide a vast selection of user-friendly features such as remote programming of tariff parking fees and display messages and a choice of secure on-line payment methods for the parking motorist.

Car Park Operators are able to have their parking meter fleet reprogrammed in the bat of an eyelid without any need to visit the meters. This means that tariff parking fees and customer display messages can be readily changed as required.

[img]http://www.itslonline.com/images/metro%20cutout1.jpg [/img]

Posted 2 years ago #
berdawn
near that stretch of N. High Street in the Short North
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these look similar to the ones at OSU. they're pretty cool.

Posted 2 years ago #
Tenzo
Chicago Lakeshore
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They also allow adjusted rates.
So you can have one rate during shopping hours and a different rate for dining or weekend hours.

Anyone know why Columbus went with the ones they did?

Posted 2 years ago #
Andrew Hall
Dennison Place (The Circles)
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Tenzo wrote
Anyone know why Columbus went with the ones they did?

Because the relevant departments and the City leadership don't look at street parking as resource to be stewarded to the maximum benefit all parties.

A.

Posted 2 years ago #
Tenzo
Chicago Lakeshore
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Andrew Hall wrote >>

Tenzo wrote
Anyone know why Columbus went with the ones they did?

Because the relevant departments and the City leadership don't look at street parking as resource to be stewarded to the maximum benefit all parties.
A.

If this were Chicago, Philly or New York; I'd know someone in the department just had a large contribution.

That it happened because of incompetence, somehow feels worse.

Posted 2 years ago #
JonMyers
HCMC, Vietnam ✈
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Yeah, the economics of installing and maintaining one machine on a block versus 25 seems obvious.

Posted 2 years ago #
honavery
Arizona
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Didn't they test the common boxes in the Short North? I seem to remember they did and people didn't like them for whatever reason. I know when they were testing the new meters they're installing everywhere now I had problems adding time that people are talking about now. (buttons not working)

Posted 2 years ago #
lizless
Columbus/Hocking Hills
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Tenzo wrote >>
They also allow adjusted rates.
So you can have one rate during shopping hours and a different rate for dining or weekend hours.
Anyone know why Columbus went with the ones they did?

The department selected the meters but Council approved the purchase of them. I believe that Randy Bowman from the department selected the exact model, he had versions of the different meter heads available for us to view at the Parking Meter Advisory Group meetings and presented them to us.

It was requested by the small business community during these meetings that we go with the versions like the ones used in Chicago and that we devote more time to exploring options of meters that would look best and be most efficient downtown. John Angelo of SNBA had some wonderful ideas from other cities but his ideas were immediately shot down by the department.

The main focus of the group though, was remedying the 50% unilateral price increase that at the time the City insisted was necessary so much of the actual meter design discussion was lost in the process.

Posted 2 years ago #
gramarye
In Exile
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Roland wrote >>

Tenzo wrote >>
I have to say, these new meters are going up at an amazing rate. I never see them being installed but I see 100's of new ones every day.
It's a shame that there seems to be a flaw in all the new meters going up. Putting in all new meters does not seem to make sense anyway.
It's not like the new meters are nice. To me they are a fricken eye sore. Before the meters blended in with the streets so you didn't really see them. Now the meters are like someone put shiny tin foil on each one. I think Columbus should have done what cities do by putting in placing a common box on every block. Less eyesore, more natural and and less parts that can break and not work right. Plus if one breaks, you use another.
(Sorry for the interruption, feel free to go back to the sniping)

I completely agree. I was surprised that Columbus went with this option.

Same here. I found the new ones in the Short North (at least, they were to me--sadly, I don't get to see the place as regularly as I'd like) to be a real distraction on the streetscape. With the blinking red eyes, they now look like dalek tadpoles, too.

Akron uses the single-machine system. I'm assuming it's working fairly well so far, since they've stuck with it, though friends that I had down from Brecksville last night found them a little confusing to use. (They were also crestfallen when I told them--after they'd figured it out, paid, and come found me in the restaurant--that they were free on weekends.)

Posted 2 years ago #
Tenzo
Chicago Lakeshore
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Roland wrote >>

Tenzo wrote >>
I have to say, these new meters are going up at an amazing rate. I never see them being installed but I see 100's of new ones every day.
It's a shame that there seems to be a flaw in all the new meters going up. Putting in all new meters does not seem to make sense anyway.
It's not like the new meters are nice. To me they are a fricken eye sore. Before the meters blended in with the streets so you didn't really see them. Now the meters are like someone put shiny tin foil on each one. I think Columbus should have done what cities do by putting in placing a common box on every block. Less eyesore, more natural and and less parts that can break and not work right. Plus if one breaks, you use another.
(Sorry for the interruption, feel free to go back to the sniping)

I completely agree. I was surprised that Columbus went with this option.

Obvious Reason is Obvious

Posted 2 years ago #
Walker
The KLD / Downtown / Gay Street
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Could be worse I guess...

Gahanna Woman Claims Verbal Assault By Easton Security, Banned For Life

By CANDICE LEE
Published: February 01, 2011

A quick stop at Easton for dinner found one Central Ohio woman in the crosshairs of Easton security. It was January 21st. Alison ordered food from an Easton restaurant. She left her car to get change and when she returned Easton security officers surrounded her car.

"They told me I had unpaid parking tickets and if I didn't pay them now they were going to boot my car," recalls Alison.

Afraid, Alison called her husband who described the confrontation between his wife and the officers as scary.

READ MORE: http://www2.nbc4i.com/news/2011/feb/01/3/gahanna-woman-claims-verbal-assault-by-easton-secu-ar-383264/

Posted 2 years ago #
berdawn
near that stretch of N. High Street in the Short North
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OTOH, the meters at Easton help support great community programs.

Posted 2 years ago #
Walker
The KLD / Downtown / Gay Street
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Yes, they do.

I just wonder how many people realize that they're on private property and are subject to things like "lifetime bans" for not paying the fines.

Posted 2 years ago #
Twixlen
The Weston District
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What's interesting, is that in the story, they say she had paid her fines? So.... it woiuld seem that perhaps there was some sort of shake-down tactic going on there.

Doofus + uniform resembling a cop /= cop.... See also, mall police.

Posted 2 years ago #
honavery
Arizona
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Anytime I go to Easton I can't believe anyone even bothers to park at the meters...with all the free lots and huge (free) garages. There are comments on that story complaining about the lack of free parking at Easton. Seriously.

Posted 2 years ago #
lifeliberty
Here
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1. i didn't know you would get ticketed for not paying the meter at easton. the mall gestapo can really boot your car?

2. I'm curious as to how much "and a portion of those proceeds" because that could just be used to make them look good and the customer a scrooge.

Posted 2 years ago #
Andrew Hall
Dennison Place (The Circles)
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There are a lot of things to wonder about in that story. The two that leap out:

1) How many tickets does that work out to be? If it is normal meters, 20+ parking tickets!

2) Or, perhaps it is not normal meters. Her alleged comment about being threatened about 'federal regulations' leads me to strongly suspect that she was parking at handicapped meters.

Like with all other stories that come out in the media, one should be skeptical. This story did not have a virgin birth but was implanted by the aggrieved party. That doesn't mean it is invalid, but skepticism is warranted.

A.

Posted 2 years ago #
RandomVisitor

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honavery wrote >>
Anytime I go to Easton I can't believe anyone even bothers to park at the meters...with all the free lots and huge (free) garages. There are comments on that story complaining about the lack of free parking at Easton. Seriously.

The free lots work well for most of us, but once or twice a year I take my mother to Easton. It is nice to park closer in the metered spots on those days.

Posted 2 years ago #
cc

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I think Easton's reply made a lot of sense. They are using paid meters to encourage turnover at choice spots. They said they don't 'ban people for life' for parking infractions*. Clearly there were a lot of tickets by this woman. I wonder what would happen to her if she tried to shop in the SN or Downtown? That would really teach her a lesson ;)

*though I can see an overzealous rent a cop saying something like that.

Posted 2 years ago #