In a city where motorists complain of too few parking spaces and too many parking tickets, a bright spot has emerged.
Solar-powered electronic parking kiosks, introduced four years ago at parking hot spots throughout the city, have nearly doubled revenues from meters and reduced the number of tickets issued to motorists who overstay their welcome, new statistics show.
And with the City Council prepared to cast the final vote at its meeting this evening approving $2.4 million to add 280 kiosks in several neighborhoods, the timing of the new numbers couldn?t be better for proponents of the electronic meters.
The kiosks, which allow motorists to pay with a debit or credit card at a single machine and to park freely in designated areas, have increased meter revenues by nearly 50 percent on an annual basis since a successful pilot program in Charles Village led to the installation of 427 kiosks citywide.
Now spread among heavily trafficked neighborhoods such as Fells Point, Canton and Hampden, the parking kiosks have added $2.15 million to the total take from parking meters on an annual basis ? from $4,444,601 between April 2003 to May 2004, when the city relied solely on coin-fed meters, to $6.6 million last year.
City officials said the significant increase in parking spaces and the ability to monitor the kiosks electronically have saved time and money that more than justify the additional costs ? roughly $10,000 per kiosk.
The kiosks? ability to free additional parking spaces ? on average 10 percent more than with traditional meters ? also has won support among area business owners.
“From the perspective of our association, there is more parking in Hampden since the kiosks were put into place, and that?s good,” said Benn Ray, president of the Hampden Merchants Association and the owner of Atomic Books and Atomic Pop stores.
“One issue I have is it adds an additional step for the driver, by making people get the slip and walk [back] to their car, but space has definitely increased.”
One drawback for the city has been a downward trend in the number of parking citations issued in the neighborhoods where kiosks have been installed. Department of Transportation officials still back the plan to add more kiosks, despite it putting a damper on ticket writing.
If the authorization passes the council this evening, Waverly, Govans and Greektown will be added to Canton, Fells Point and Charles Village as neighborhoods served predominantly by kiosks.
