Posted: May 13, 2010 12:33:55 PM PDT
Motorists visiting Bellingham's Civic Center will find easy-to-use pay stations replacing parking meters starting June 1, 2010. The change is designed to improve customer convenience, reduce maintenance costs and balance customer and merchant needs with the City’s long-term goal of reducing vehicle travel.
Parking spaces in front of and beside Bellingham City Hall, the Bellingham Public Library, and on the east side of the Courthouse - including some that are now free - will be managed by pay stations, charging 75 cents per hour for up to two hours of parking. Free public spaces off-street directly behind City Hall will remain, and the pay stations will not accept payment on weekends and holidays when parking is free.
“Our challenge is always finding ways to improve customer service without increasing program costs. This change is another way we're using technology to meet both goals, ” said Opal Mahoney, Parking Services Manager. “Some think it’s a little sad to see single-space meters being ‘retired’ across the country. They’ve been old work horses but they just can’t offer the convenience that motorists have come to expect without increasing costs of administering them,” said Mahoney.
Mahoney said the pay stations offer multiple payment options, including debit and credit card, U.S. currency and U.S. coin. Printed receipts stay with the motorist and provide both the parking space and expiration time. Parking time can be purchased or extended at any pay station in the network, including those in the Commercial Street Parkade or the 1100 block of Railroad. A variable-rate, extended-stay pilot program will test motorist interest in paying higher fees to stay past the current 2-hour time limit, she added.
Pay stations need service only twice a month, she said, while meters can require service up to three times a week. The Civic Center installation will eliminate nearly 21,000 individual meter collections each year. Remote administration allows all rates to be programmed from a central computer instead of manually adjusting each meter.
The $153,352 budgeted for this project is provided by the Parking Enterprise Fund.
Additional information is available on the city web site, http://www.cob.org/services/transportation/parking/hourly-parking.aspx
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More information
Media Contact:
Opal Mahoney, Parking Services Manager
Public Works Department
778-7780
omahoney@cob.org
