The new parking meters accept credit cards (as well as coins) and feature larger, more visible screens.
Covington parking authority updating devices to increase convenience
COVINGTON, Ky. – It’s a common sight in business districts almost anywhere you go: Drivers and passengers standing for long periods in front of on-street parking meters, trying to figure out how to pay, what to pay, and even if they have to pay.
The process is confusing, time-consuming, and frustrating.
That’s changing in The Cov.
With more ways to pay and larger, more helpful and visible video screens, new parking meters being installed this week will make it easier and less stressful to park in Covington’s business districts.
The old meters were at least 30 years old and prone to break, fill up with coins, and have their screens fogged, said Kyle Snyder, executive director of the Covington Motor Vehicle Parking Authority. With the new meters, Snyder said, “we want to make it as convenient as possible.”
Two features are especially important:
For the first time, drivers will be able to use credit cards to pay at meters as well as kiosks. But the meters will also maintain the ability to use coins, not to mention to pay via various apps, such as the current Passport Parking and Cincy EZPark apps.
“We realize that some people are very tech-savvy, while others not so much,” Snyder said. “We want to meet people where they are and make it easy for everyone. That’s why you can use apps, credit cards or coins, which are being phased out in many other cities.”
Kiosks (also called “parking stations”) will also take coins, including those in off-street City-operated parking lots.
With the new meters, the parking authority is also working toward adding two other payment options: The ability to pay via text and the use of the “Park Smarter” app that will also let drivers know where open spots are.
Meter rates will remain the same at $1.50 an hour with the first 15 minutes free. (Those free 15 minutes will be applied automatically, rather than forcing the driver to hit a special button, Snyder said.)
The new meters also have larger screens that are easier to read and better convey information, Snyder said. One helpful feature will say clearly and explicitly whether at that given moment the driver needs to pay to park or whether it’s outside the normal hours of operation. (Those hours will remain 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Saturday.)
The old screens often got fogged with moisture, making them difficult to read, Snyder said.
“You will no longer have to stand there trying to decipher what you’re seeing,” he said. “These new screens are more dynamic and intuitive, not to mention easier to read.”
Vendor IPS Group is installing more than 400 meters around the city, plus some new kiosks.
As approved by both the Covington Board of Commissioners and the board of the Covington Motor Vehicle Parking Authority, meters are being added to a couple of locations around Covington’s business districts.
To reduce clutter, on-street kiosks will replace meters in a few busy areas – such as the 400 block of Scott Boulevard, the south side of Park Avenue between Court Street and Madison Avenue, and the north side of Park between Court and Greenup Steet. Some kiosks in off-street parking lots will also be replaced to make the kiosks consistent throughout Covington.
The project is also reducing clutter by, where feasible, attaching meters for two parking spots on one pole, so your meter might be at the rear of the space in some locations instead of always at the front or head of the space.
The new meters will have batteries that are recharged by solar panels, reducing the likelihood of batteries failing.
Ongoing improvements
The new meters are just the latest in updates and improvements made by the parking authority to make it easier to park in Covington. Last spring, the authority announced the unveiling of a new website, new directional signs, and new branding. That website can be found at Covpark.
Snyder said on-street meters are important for two reasons:
One, they create revenue that helps the authority invest in, maintain, and modernize publicly owned infrastructure.
And two, more importantly, they help Covington businesses by creating turnover.
“Many businesses – especially small businesses like coffee shops, diners, bars, restaurants, and retail shops and even some smaller service-oriented businesses like tattoo shops and barbershops – rely on spur-of-the-moment decisions made by drivers,” he said. “If there are open parking spots in walking distance, people are more likely to stop to get that cup of coffee. If we didn’t have meters, non-customers would park all day and all weekend in key spots for businesses.”
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