No Change? No Problem

By Rachelle Bowden in News on Dec 13, 2004 1:22PM

About 1,000 parking meters are being removed from the streets within the next 4-6 weeks and being replaced with "pay and display" boxes that accept credit cards. So far there are 12 boxes and 88 more are on the way. That doesn't add up right? Replacing 100 machines for 1,000 removed? Well, the first machines are on Clark St. and this is how they work - instead of having a meter for every car parked on a block, there will be one pay and display box in the middle of the block. A driver will go to that machine and pay with coins or (welcome to the 21st century) credit cards. The machine will then spit out a receipt that you'll need to put on your dashboard. The machines cost the city $15,000 each (a regular meter costs $450), are solar powered, and are bilingual (English/Spanish).

To alert people of the change, more than 500 signs are going up. Also, the city will provide people to help motorists use the new devices for the first few days after the boxes are installed.

In addition to the convenience of being able to use your credit card, the machines give you a receipt to prove you paid.. hello, expense account! The rates will remain the same -25 cents for 15 minutes - and so will the 2-hour time limit.

The new system will increase the parking space available. Since individual meters won't define a parking space, it's estimated that 3-4 more cars will fit on each block. The affected area is bounded by Wacker, Congress and the lake.

Photo via ABC 7