Raleigh unveils pay stations for downtown parking

Raleigh, N.C. — Raleigh officials on Wednesday unveiled a system of pay stations that the city will use to handle on-street parking downtown.

Officials are installing 173 pay stations in the area bounded by Edenton, South, Blount and Harrington streets and in the Glenwood South area. In the fall, about 20 more will be placed along Hillsborough Street between Oberlin Road and Gardner Street.

Some of the parking spaces in those areas have been metered in the past, while others have been free in the past. City officials have said they hope that requiring people to pay for parking will discourage people from occupying on-street spaces for extended periods.

"These kinds of parking meters are in use throughout the country. It's an easier technology and, hopefully, after a short transition period, it will become second nature to folks who are parking downtown," Mayor Charles Meeker said.

In addition to the change traditionally associated with parking meters, the pay stations will accept Visa and Mastercard payments. The minimum payment amount for credit card users will be $1.

Each parking space will be numbered, and a single pay station will handle payments for several spaces within a block.

The pay stations won't require payments between 5 p.m. and 8 a.m. weekdays and on weekends, when on-street parking is free, but people arriving after 6 a.m. weekdays can pre-pay for their parking, with the pay stations charging against the payment after 8 a.m.

Downtown visitors can use the stations to pay for parking time in 15-minute increments, from 25 cents for 15 minutes up to $2 for two hours, depending on how much time is allowed for a particular parking space.

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I hate to admit it, but the city needs to charge everyone, handicapped or not. The use of handicapped placards by State employees to park for free has reached epidemic proportions, and it's a "wink and nod" practice for those that work downtown.

IMO the City should institute an aggressive campaign to isolate and ridicule anyone who obtains a Handicapped placard by fraud or by copying someone elses. Handicapped people deserve the closer parking spaces, and you can't assume that just because someone is not in a wheelchair they're faking it. However, the large percentage of fakers makes people apathetic to the original reasons for the program and skeptical of the legitimate users of it.

Lift a couple of medical licenses and start putting some faces on tv for placard fraud, and you'll see change. Unfortunately, more and more people base their behavior on what they can get away with instead of what's fair and honest. Guess they're following the example of our elected officials.

TechRescue
February 4, 2010 10:18 a.m.

gsmith - then why don't you report what you surveyed. Complaining about it on here isn't going to do anything.

nc_interest & yellow_hat - don't go downtown then. And you're not going to go because of 25 cents per 15 minutes? If it wasn't for all of us who ruined downtown parking with leaving their cars in a space for 2 hours and then moving to another 2 hr space, and people illegally using hcap cards, this wouldn't have been needed.

Both of you - never go to a bigger city because parking in Raleigh b/f this change was easier than any other city I've been too.

I have found a spot every time I went downtown. If you can't walk a few blocks that's one thing but most are just so lazy and out of shape.

Hey everyone down here - stop eating butter and fried food by the bucket and start moving your lazy esses.

Anyone complaining this much about $1/hr parking must be right-wing.

commonsense4
February 4, 2010 8:45 a.m.

donnaferguson

You read way too much into my post. If you pay close attention, you'll see it. What I'm "calling out" is the overwhelming increase in the ratio of HC placards to non-HC placards within such close proximity to government office buildings. I believe they know something we don't.

As far as the counterfeit placards goes, they are as easy to duplicate as SS Cards and NCSU student ID's.

5-113 FA Retired
February 3, 2010 7:09 p.m.

gsmith if 8 had handicap placards that were duplicated, they were fake. I know from personal experience that DMV will only issue TWO placards to any disabled individual. I own and use a handicap placard. I paid to park in downtown New Orleans, and if I have the occasion to go to downtown Raleigh I will follow the law and pay. My disability is MY OWN and I have a great deal of resentment for anyone who would choose to 'call me out' for having a placard and maybe looking normal. Call my Hospice nurse....................

donnaferguson
February 3, 2010 5:45 p.m.

The good news is that the city is going to start charging the handicapped to park. They just won't be limited to the amount of time they leave their cars. But I bet this frees up a lot of spaces. The city was not charging them to park at all and allowing them to stay all day. That's what has led many to abuse the handicapped placards--using ones that belong to other people.

geoherb1
February 3, 2010 5:07 p.m.