Chapel Hill to see sustainable parking meters

Drivers might not have to search under floor mats to feed the meter after the town installs new parking pay stations.

By summer, 40 multi-space stations, which will allow motorists to pay via credit card, will replace about 240 single-space meters that line the downtown streets.

Two different models of the pay stations were installed on East Franklin Street in August. The town decided on a model after seeking public feedback.

The pay stations, which can collect payments from up to 10 spaces, will eliminate paper receipts and run on solar energy.

“There is a battery that is charged with the use of solar power built into the top of every pay station, and the notion is we don’t have to replace the batteries nearly as soon,” Town Parking Superintendent Brenda Jones said.

These green cell batteries only charge when there is sufficient daylight but are able to maintain their charge long after sunset, Chapel Hill Sustainability Officer Jordan Richardson said.

“This is just another example of how there are always opportunities to improve the sustainability of how we do business.”

The town is nearing the end of its discussion with Duncan Solutions, supplier and installer of the stations, and expects the new machines to be installed within about a month. The town appropriated $320,000 from the parking fund for the replacements.

Town Business Management Director Ken Pennoyer said installation shouldn’t affect capacity.

“We’ll probably put the new ones in while the old ones are still there and have signs directing people to use the old meters until we take them out. Basically there will be an overlap period,” he said.

Pennoyer said rates at the new meters will remain the same because the Chapel Hill Town Council chose not to adopt a 25-cent fee hike recommended by the parking department earlier this year.

“We’re going to recommend it again when the council looks at the budget in total in a couple of months,” he said.

Jones said the old meters will likely be auctioned off through GovDeals, a website that allows government agencies to sell surplus and confiscated items.

Although the new meters will initially be installed for downtown parking, Jones said the possibility of incorporating other public lots is being explored.

“We’ve had discussions, and anything is possible,” she said. “There are some other areas we have identified where they could be useful, but they would have to be slowly integrated.”

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