Alexandria parkers soon won’t have to waste time searching under the seats for quarters.
City officials are poised to replace Old Town’s more than 1,000 coin operated, single-space meters with 125 multi-space, credit card capable parking meters.
The new meters would cost roughly $1.25 million, or about $10,000 apiece, according to Alexandria Transportation Director Rich Baier.
“The [City] Council members have been getting a lot of e-mails from residents and business owners asking that this be approved,” Baier said.
The council earlier this year approved a meter rate increase, raising the per-hour charge from $1 to $1.75. The new rate is comparable to parking charges in Georgetown, parts of Arlington County and other local shopping and dining hot spots.
But most of those pricier neighborhoods offer drivers credit card payment options, and Alexandria visitors and business owners complained that coming up with seven quarters to buy an hour of parking was onerous and potentially hurting the bottom line for Old Town businesses.
“People don’t carry this many quarters with them anymore,” Councilman Rob Krupicka said. “We’ve heard from a lot of people that they would like these multi-space meters put in as soon as possible.”
Krupicka said the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce sent a letter to the City Council strongly supporting the installation of the new meters.
The money for the new meters would come from a bloc of funds the city had set aside to pay for an estimated $1.6 million increase in its Metro subsidy. But that hike worked out to be about $1.3 million less than the city had anticipated, freeing up cash for the new meters.
City officials also are considering installing multi-space meters on the 100 and 200 blocks of King Street, which are not metered currently. City budget officials estimate the revenue from the new meters will cover their $60,000 price tag within the first six months of operation.
The City Council is scheduled to decide on Tuesday whether to install the meters on King Street and in place of the old single-space meters. Baier said the new meters, if approved, would be installed early next year.
