Parking meters updated with new technology in Oxford
“The old meters are not being produced and replacement parts are unavailable. It was the choice to get new meters and if you get new meters, do you get an archaic system? That just does not make sense,” Fening said.
The newly installed Smart Meters will accept coins and will also accept payment through the ParkMobile app. She said the app has the added advantage of being able to extend time at the meter remotely without having to go out to the meter.
The new meters and three methods of payment are not all that is new with parking in the Uptown business district. Parking on High Street will now go to $1 per hour and the time to pay for parking has been extended from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Meters on Church and Walnut streets will remain at 25 cents per hour to encourage people to use those streets, rather than parking long-term on High Street. That is aimed at employees of Uptown businesses who have been known to park for extended periods on High Street keeping a space from becoming available for customers, as well those who live Uptown and keep spaces occupied for long periods of time.
“This will push parking Uptown to side streets,” Fening said. “We do not want them parking on High Street to keep parking turning over.”
Fening said they did an occupancy study of parking spaces Uptown last October to determine heaviest usage times. Although it came during the pandemic, she said it was informative.
“October is, historically, the heaviest month of the year, but it would be to scale. I was surprised by the results. Dinnertime is the THE busiest time of the day, so it makes sense to extend the time to save spots (for people coming Uptown to eat),” she said. “We are open to a short-term parking space. We have discussed that. (Assistant City Manager) Jessica (Greene) talked to (businesses) about a space primarily for delivery and pick-ups. We’ll get there, but this had to be a first step.”
Gloss