The city of Columbia decided to end the 90-day trial period of multi-space parking meters and revert to old collection methods Wednesday.
The parking meters, which were located on Ninth Street between Broadway and Locust Street, accepted E.Z. Charge, debit cards, cash and coins. The Downtown Parking Task Force, the PedNet Coalition, the Downtown Columbia Leadership Council, downtown residents and churches saw the need to change the meter use.
The Downtown Parking Task Force saw a more efficient way to collect money was needed, and business owners were hoping there would be a decrease in the number of tickets for their customers, Columbia Public Works Department spokeswoman Jill Stedem said.
Financially, the multi-space parking meters were no burden on the City of Columbia. San Diego-based IPS Group, a company that prides itself on manufacturing the “most technologically advanced yet practical and affordable parking meter systems in the world,” allows for free 90-day trials, according to its website.
As with any public works project or purchase, the use of the new meters entailed a purchase, Stedem said. If the city decided to purchase the meters, there would have been a bidding process, with the cheapest company’s meters being placed on the streets.
Because the use of the multi-space system was a trial, hoods were placed on the older, still intact meters.
After Columbia used the multi-space parking meters for a month, but before the city decided to take action, the meters started causing citizens annoyance. Complaints of jamming coins became enough cause to terminate the use of the difficult machines.
“The machines were not accepting coins, and we had continuous problems with them jamming,” Stedem said. “Citizens felt it was an inconvenience to walk from their vehicle to a payment system. After complaints from citizens and surrounding businesses, we decided to end the test early.”
In the future, the goals of curbing parking issues might be solved by the alternative test option, which includes single-space meters currently being rented from IPS Group. These single-space meters allow for debit card usage and traditional coins. The meters don’t allow for E.Z. Charge, which might pose a problem for some downtown residents who park on the streets regularly.
“The test is to determine if they will generate more revenue,” Stedem said. “Obviously, if we decide to change machines it will be quite costly for the city and we would need to budget for this additional expense.”
MU student Patrick Knutson said he only cares about the end result of the parking meter tests.
“It’s a hassle to walk an extra block to pay to park with those current meters,” Knutson said. “And I already have two parking tickets I haven’t paid, it’s not like I need any more of those.”