Starting this morning, the first of more than 1,000 new parking meters were installed downtown, along South Gay Street. All downtown meters will be replaced in the next few weeks.
They'll be more reliable than the 20-year-old existing meters that are prone to breaking down and malfunctioning. The new meters are solar-powered. They're unscratched, undented and - with a decorative base and black and gray heads - more aesthetically pleasing than the old mixed assortment of gray, black or silver meters and poles. And, unlike the old meters, the new equipment allows motorists to pay with credit or debit cards as well as with coins.
The City is paying contractor IPS Group about $1 million to supply the meters and install them.
This month's meter installations continue the implementation of a comprehensive approach to managing public parking in downtown and in Fort Sanders. Parking rates are being adjusted to a uniform $1.50 an hour for on-street metered spaces. City-owned garages, which account for more than 90 percent of public parking downtown, will remain $1 an hour during weekdays and free on weekends and when parking after 6 p.m. on weeknights. The Public Building Authority on July 1 assumed responsibility for parking enforcement throughout downtown. (You can read about all of the downtown parking changes here.)
The new meters include sensors that will enable City engineers to track actual usage of street parking spaces. The sensors also can monitor parking spaces designated for disabled drivers and commercial loading zones.
The goal for on-street parking is to create more turnover of short-term parking spaces in high-demand areas, to ensure availability and to benefit merchants and restaurants.
For more information about public parking in Knoxville, visit http://www.knoxvilletn.gov/parking.
- Communications intern Morgan Herrig
