No Quarters? No Problem for City Garage Parking
By: August Knuth
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ATHENS, Ohio – Two parking kiosks were added to the Athens City Parking Garage Tuesday. The kiosks, on levels one and two near the elevators, are part of a city pilot program to update the parking services.
Unlike the Parkmobile app., currently available to garage users, the kiosks will not require a .35-cent user fee.
In addition, users of the kiosks will have the flexibility of paying with either coins or a debit/credit card(s).
Athens Police Cpt. Ralph Harvey said the kiosks were put into place to provide the public with more options while the efficiency of the kiosks are tested.
“If the kiosk makes things easier then we will most likely install them on every floor, or possibly every other floor,” he said.
While the meters will still be available, Harvey said some may be covered to force people to use the kiosks.
Kiosks vs. Smart Meters
The city added smart meters on Court St. in late January as part of the pilot program. The smart meters and kiosks are slightly different, but both offer a credit/debit card slot on the machine to pay for parking. The smart meters are a more advanced, providing an app and map to show empty-metered spaces available.
Ohio University student, Max Herron, said he prefers to use a kiosk over the meters.
“I just feel like I never have enough change on me,” he said. “It’s just a lot nicer to be able to pay with my debit card and not have to worry about carrying quarters around all day. When I go to Ping, I always use those machines … it’s just much easier.”
Fellow student Luke Fredricks agrees with Herron about not having enough change, but thinks there is a bigger problem than the paying options for the meters.
“Yeah, I’ve got a lot of loose change that’s not quarters, but more than just scrambling for change, I feel like OU has a real problem with parking spaces,” he said. “Even for commuters, because that’s something that I’ve dealt with a lot.”
Fredricks said he doesn’t believe the kiosk will be more convenient for him because he doesn’t like to pay with a card, but he thinks it will be convenient for others.
“If other people are more likely to use a card, or they don’t have change on hand, I feel like the kiosk is a good thing,” he said.