According to city officials, the downtown streetscape and green
space renovation project known as Project 180 created more than 600 new
on-street parking spots, and the old coin parking meters will be
replaced by a “more advanced pay station.”
While
the new meters do accept coins, they also accept credit cards, and as
many as 125 multispace, solar-powered pay stations will be installed in
phases throughout the summer, with the first phase going in around the
Myriad Botanical Gardens.
Here’s where the crushing of hopes and dreams comes in:
Think you can throw some money in a meter and take off to the appointment you’re already running late for? Think again.
Users
first use coins or credit to enter their time in the meter, print a
receipt and put the receipt on the front driver’s side windshield of the
car. If the receipt isn’t visible, it’s a parking violation.
That
means there are no more opportunities for altruism by feeding other
meters; no more pure joy afforded to drivers who pull into an empty
space only to discover the clock is still ticking. What’s next? The
outlawing of rainbows and baby laughs?
If
a person returns to the car before time expires, he or she can leave
the receipt on the dash and move to any other downtown curbside parking
space without having to pay again. (Hmm, we thought Project 180’s
renovations were creating a more walkable downtown?) “You’re now paying
for time, not for a specific space,” said Debi Holtzclaw, parking
manager for the Central Oklahoma Transportation & Parking Authority.
“Users of curbside parking downtown will no longer have to leave
un-used time for the next driver; they can take it with them.”
Ayn Rand would have been proud — had she believed in public parking, or public anything.
Oh,
and 30 minutes worth of parking will cost 75 cents, an hour will cost
$1.50, and two hours will cost $3. Did we mention there’s also a minimum time limit to use the space as well? Yep — you have to pay for at least 30 minutes to park there.
This article appears in Jul 4-10, 2012.