Dec 13, 2007 1:30 pm US/Pacific
No Need For a Quarter: Meters Take Plastic
Parking Meters In North Hollywood Take Change, Cards, Cell Phones
North Hollywood (AP) ―
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No more broken meters in North Hollywood; digital replacements are here. (file)
AP
City officials today unveiled the parking meter of the future. The meters will work the old fashioned way, with change, but will also accept credit cards, debit cards and even cell phones.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was among those touting the Easy Park_easy Pay machines, the first of which were installed in a city parking lot at 11229 Magnolia Blvd. in North Hollywood.
The Los Angeles Department of Transportation is replacing 6,000 of the the city's 40,000 meters with the new multi-unit machines that allow drivers multiple payment options.
"Anyone in Los Angeles who has parked on the street or in public lots knows the frustration of broken meters, unwarranted parking tickets, and the stress of scraping for spare change to cover your trip to the local store," said Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
1,000 meters in city parking lots are scheduled to be replaced, with another 5,000 along Los Angeles city streets by next spring. If the meters are deemed a success, the city will replace all 40,000 meters within two years.
"We will have new, durable and more reliable single-space meters. These have been tested in other cities, including New York, and have withstood the test of vandalism," said City Councilwoman Wendy Greuel, chair of the council's Transportation Committee.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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