"Pay-and-Display" Parking Machines: Staying or Going in Downtown Athens, Ga.?
High-tech machines sometimes frustrate those trying to park and shop.
When the $10,000, solar-powered, blue "pay-and-display" machines appeared in downtown Athens in 2010, they were hailed as a way to "go green," simplify parking and make the sidewalks less cluttered. For some shoppers, however, the machines are a time-consuming hassle at best and a puzzling piece of technology at worst. So the Athens Downtown Development Authority is going to ask the Athens Clarke County Commission whether it should repair an ailing “pay-and-display” machine near Mellow Mushroom on Clayton or replace it with eight individual computerized parking meters. The ADDA board has recommended having the machine removed in favor of the new meters. The Mayor and ACC Commission may vote on the request at its October meeting. Right now…
In this Article:
Rebecca McCarthy
10:01 pm on Monday, September 24, 2012
Ms. Miller doesn't care one way or another what kind of parking machines are being used--that's a matter recommended by the board of directors and then approved by the ACC Commission. The pay-and-display machines did increase parking revenues, and they were expected to do. These revenues pay the salaries of employees of the ADDA and help fund the whole operation, including buying new, … more ›