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1

Yeah, that walking three stalls back to your car - how bothersome and inconvenient.

On the plus side:

- You never have to worry about getting ticketed because the meter you parked at suddenly stops working.

- Your meter time is portable; don't use all your time at one spot, you can park somewhere else until the time has expired.

- You can use a credit card - no more having to carry pockets full of loose change around.

- The system actually frees up more parking space, because you can generally cram one or two more slots on a block without meters.

Do agree about the stickers, though. Maybe they could make them out of some sort of biodegradeable or recyclable paper. But again, I'm the sort of crazy person who actually recycles the paper trash from my car.

Posted by COMTE | December 20, 2006 2:32 PM
2

Plus, it frees up the coin collection team for Ramadi.

Posted by Lloyd Clydesdale | December 20, 2006 2:45 PM
3

20 years from now children will not be able to understand the opening scene of "Cool Hand Luke".

Posted by DOUG. | December 20, 2006 2:54 PM
4

Lots of folks with leftover time are slapping their stickers back on the digital meters.

Of course, you'd have to walk the 3 stalls AGAIN in order to donate your time.

Posted by Jez | December 20, 2006 3:00 PM
5

ka-chunk

Posted by josh | December 20, 2006 3:25 PM
6

And they all have built-in clocks... no more asking strangers for the time.

Posted by Phenics | December 20, 2006 3:36 PM
7

"We hardly knew you?"

No, Erica, we knew those damned things well enough thank you. They will not be missed.

Posted by Meter Beater | December 20, 2006 3:47 PM
8

Someone call the fucking waaahmbulance for Ericka. Either that or bring in the tiny violins. Pathetic.

My only complaint is that the interface is a little clunky on the Seattle meters. Seems they could have been designed to make things a bit more "obvious" (Portland's are better).

Posted by jcricket | December 20, 2006 3:59 PM
9

I agree that the new meters work fine for cars. But they do suck for scooters and motorcycles. I've had my ticket stolen once and blown off another time. And if there's any rain, it ain't gonna stick. I suggest that they either provide old-style metered parking for 2-wheeled vehicles, or exempt them from the charge altogether.

Posted by Shafty | December 20, 2006 4:16 PM
10

There should be designated scooter and motorcycle parking - you can fit three two-wheelers in one space and it should be exempt.

And the fine for cars parked in those spaces should be awesomely high.

Posted by Soupytwist | December 20, 2006 4:32 PM
11

Soupytwist I agree about the high fines for cars parked in two-wheeled spaces. Though one time I went to park at the designated two-wheeled parking in front of the Downtown Y and who should be blocking the space but the damned meter reader (or should they now be called ticket-inspector?). Grrr.

Posted by Shafty | December 20, 2006 4:46 PM
12

Add to that that huge fines should be levied on youziz who park, run in to get a coffee, whatever, in commercial load zones. You dickheads.

Posted by Lloyd Clydesdale | December 20, 2006 5:43 PM
13

Scooters, motorcycles and convertibles should ALWAYS use a credit card. If your sticker is then stolen, you can contest your ticket with proof of payment.

Posted by Blamer | December 20, 2006 6:06 PM
14

They shoulda added a bill slot on the new ticket machines, though.

Posted by Justin J | December 20, 2006 6:49 PM
15

Erica, how old are you? Cause like I say to Savage whenever he Slogs about how much he hates people using plastic to pay for small purchases, people my age (under 30) don't carry any fucking cash anymore. On the rare occasion I've ended up in an area with coin operated parking meters, I've had to drive around for blocks looking for modern parking meters and then I have to drive back.

Posted by Gitai | December 20, 2006 7:18 PM
16

"Personally, I hate the new meters."

Really? That's a surprise, because usually you are so positive!

Posted by Sean | December 20, 2006 8:03 PM
17

Wait a second -- why does ECB even know what parking meters are for? You don't DRIVE, do you?

Posted by Fnarf | December 20, 2006 9:36 PM
18

I know something about these Pay Stations, so I feel I must set a few records straight.
Erica--Where the meters were,new cool bike-shaped bike racks have been added. If you can't find one near where you want to park your bike, please contact the bicycle team at SDOT--they like to put up bike racks. Find them on the SDOT web site.

Thank you to poster #1, you bring out the advantages of the new technology.

#9 I always suggest that motorcyclists keep a roll of clear packing tape in their bin, so they can affix the receipt securely to their headlight. Who would go to the trouble of picking off the tape to steal the receipt?

#13 Confirmed, always use a credit card, as it can be traced if there is a dispute about payment.

And, finally, the receipt tickets can be recycled.

Posted by bureaucrat | December 20, 2006 9:46 PM
19

I drive around a lot for work, and frequently have to park at meters. I used to go through several rolls of quarters a month. Now it all goes on a credit card. Way lighter than filling my glove compartment with a few hundred quarters. And it's all accounted for on a monthly statement. Plus I can pay once, and it's good for several stops.

I, for one, won't miss those coin operated things at all. Good riddance.

Posted by SDA in SEA | December 20, 2006 9:51 PM
20

Personally, I find meters useless. You can only park in the allotted space for a few minutes, and if you're gonna go in and out, why not just take the bus there anyway?

And I have to agree with the inefficient back and forth of the new meters.

Anyway, for all its faults, I'm just glad I can take the bu and not have to bother with all this car nonsense.

Posted by Gomez | December 20, 2006 10:08 PM
21

Personally, I find meters useless. You can only park in the allotted space for a few minutes, and if you're gonna go in and out, why not just take the bus there anyway?

And I have to agree with the inefficient back and forth of the new meters.

Anyway, for all its faults, I'm just glad I can take the bus and not have to bother with all this car nonsense.

Posted by Gomez | December 20, 2006 10:08 PM
22


I think the pros of the new meters generally outweigh the costs. I just wish they weren't so ugly. They look bad in historic districts.

Also, if parking for motorcycles and scooters were free, more people would ride them.

People are suckers for free parking.

Posted by meter | December 21, 2006 12:39 AM
23

I love the new meters!

1. Cash is dumb. Change is even dumber. Debit cards are smart.

2. The acompanying rate increses have scared away some poor people, leaving more spaces free for us card-carying rich folk.

Posted by David Wright | December 21, 2006 3:31 AM
24

I don't drive much, but I do have a Flexcar account, so I have a little experience with the meters. Bike parking is the main reason I miss the old meters - SDOT has done an OK job putting in the new racks, but there definitely aren't as many of them as there were parking meters (especially since that program didn't start until after a lot of the meter posts had already been removed.) However, I agree that using credit cards is a plus (since I never have cash).

Posted by ECB | December 21, 2006 10:16 AM
25

Please learn to read, Erica. Old school NYC parking meters have NOT "been replaced by multi-space battery-operated digital meters, similar to the solar meters going in all around Seattle." As the NYT article makes clear, they simply have been retrofitted with digital innards that take the place of the old mechanical ones. There are, in fact, very few of the type of multi-space meters you describe in Manhattan or any of the other boroughs.

Posted by Izzy | December 22, 2006 8:19 AM

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