Chapel Hill tries new parking meters

Jingly pockets on Franklin Street could soon become a thing of the past.

New trial multi-meter pay stations installed on the 100 and 300 blocks of Franklin Street began operating Monday.

Town staff will be on hand near the meters for the rest of the week to help drivers out with the new parking regulators.

Two station designs were selected by the town for a three-month trial period, said Chapel Hill Parking Superintendent Brenda Jones.

“Based on customer issues, we came to the conclusion that we needed to move toward a newer technology that would offer the opportunity of multiple payment options,” Jones said.

While the original meters only accept coins, one new station will accept credit cards and coins. The second station will accept bills in addition to the other methods of payment.

Town officials plan to choose between the two systems and replace the 259 downtown parking meters with the multi-meter pay stations.

“We want to see which station is the best as far as our ability to use and maintain it,” Jones said. “We’re also relying on the public to provide feedback.”

“Lots of times, people don’t have change so they will run in (stores) and run the risk of getting a ticket,” Jones said.

But Don Pinney, restaurant manager for Sutton’s Drug Store, said he never felt inconvenienced by customers asking for change for the old meters.

“I think older people are going to have a tough time with it if they don’t pay attention to what station number they’re in,” he said.

Pinney said he doesn’t know if the new meters will be worth the money spent on them, between $8,000 and $10,000 each. “You know how destructive kids are when it comes to drinking,” he said. “Will (the new meters) survive a national championship?”

One patron has already found the new ways to pay beneficial.

“I never carry cash, so being able to have the option to just use a card is the best way to go,” said Karen Collins, a UNC alumnus visiting Franklin Street from Charleston, S.C.

Citizens can offer their comments on the new stations through a survey on the town’s website.

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.