By Carla Branch
alexandrianews.org
One example of a multiple space credit card meter form MacKay Meters. (Courtesy Photo)
It now costs $1.75 to park at a meter in Alexandria for one hour. So, those who are dining, shopping or meeting in Old Town should plan to bring at least 14 quarters and stay no more than two hours.
During budget deliberations last spring, Alexandria City Councilman Rob Krupicka proposed installing multi-space parking meters that accept credit cards. Because of the $8000 to $10,000 per meter cost, Council voted to install the new high tech meters on the 100 block of King Street as a pilot project. Complaints from retailers and customers about the increased cost of parking in Alexandria have prompted Krupicka to ask his colleagues to reconsider their decision.
“I think there would be an advantage to doing them all at once,” Krupicka said. “We are hearing from retailers that customers are struggling with the number of quarters they need.
“During last spring’s budget deliberations, I proposed that the city should use the new revenues generated from higher parking meter rates to install credit card reading parking meters throughout Old Town. I thought this made sense as a convenience to visitors to Old Town as well as to support our small businesses; few people carry around piles of quarters. In the back and forth of the budget deliberations, this proposal failed and was replaced by one to first install credit card parking meters on the first block or so of King Street.
“As we enter the new legislative season in September, I’d like to propose that the Council direct staff to revisit this issue. Given the strong potential for an end of year budget surplus, new, more convenient credit card parking meters would be a wise use of a small portion of these one-time funds. The success of businesses in old town depends on the experience both visitors and residents have when they “buy local” in Alexandria,” he said.
In his most recent newsletter, Councilman Frank Fannon defended Council’s decision to raise the rate. “The primary goal of the rate increase was not to increase revenue for the City, but to help improve the availability of parking in Old Town. I remain opposed to raising taxes to offset poor spending decisions, which was one of the reasons I voted against the overall budget this year. However, the increase was meant to improve parking and not merely raise revenue for the City,” he said.
What About The New Meters
The new meters, which Council approved for lower King Street have not yet been ordered and won’t be installed for at least six months. “We are meeting with several vendors to consider our options,” said Abi Lerner, Deputy Director of the Department of Transportation and Environmental Services. “We certainly want them to accept credit cards and possibly paper money. We are also looking at the option of having print-outs in different colors when the meter has expired to assist our parking enforcement efforts.”
There are meters that accept credit cards in parts of the Carlyle development. “Anecdotally, we have heard from customers who really like the convenience and from parking enforcement personnel who find them difficult,” Lerner said. “That’s one of the reasons that we have invited vendors in to speak with us so that we can get more information about what is state-of-the-art in these meters now.”