Within the next two years, drivers in downtown Princeton will no longer have to fumble through their pockets for loose change when parking on the street. A plan to install new, debit-card parking meters on and around Nassau Street is in the works, thanks to Princeton Borough officials and engineers.
The new system will still accept coins, but will primarily use debit-type parking cards, the Times of Trenton reported. The cards will be sold at different vending machines around Princeton, including one at the campus's Dinky station. Drivers will be able to buy a set number of parking minutes in advance and also refill old cards.
One card swipe would entitle a driver to two hours of parking at the meter – the maximum amount of time currently allowed downtown, according to the Times of Trenton. If the driver returned before the two hours was up, another card swipe would reimburse them for the remaining time.
To encourage drivers to use the new system, the cards themselves will come free of charge, The Times of Trenton said. There may even be a 10-percent discount when a card is refilled.
The parking cards will also be valid at the new Spring Street parking garage, slated to open before the end of 2003.
The estimated cost of installing this new system is between $217,000 and $234,000, The Times of Trenton reported. Once the system is installed, Princeton will become one of an elite group of communities, including Miami Beach, to boast such parking technology, the newspaper reported.
'Great Idea'
Princeton students with cars on campus were very positive when they heard the news. "It's a great idea," David Segal '03 said.
He said it would be nice to have "a way to have the meter continue to debit your account as long as your car stays in the spot, so you don't have to worry about feeding the meter. Then I'd park more often."
Letizia Allais '05 said, "It'll definitely make people park more often and hence spend more money on parking."
Not all students envisioned the new system having an impact on them, however.
"I don't think it will change my life. I pretty much just park in Lot 23 anyway, and if I don't I usually have enough loose change to feed the meter," said Bill Ellison '03.
However, Ellison also admitted "it might be kind of cool."
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