Just as it seemed people were almost able to work the “new” kiosks in Downtown, the Hartford Parking Authority starts testing out two other types of meters.
The test meters are on Trumbull Street and Allyn Street in Downtown, and on Lafayette Street in Frog Hollow. The testing period is slated to end in March 2016. Those who use the meters are invited to provide HPA with feedback via a survey. For those who enjoy complaining about parking, the survey seems like the most appropriate venue for that sort of venting.
Rich H
I haven’t used the new meters, but I inspected the ones on Lafayette on a recent walk. The only good comment: it clearly tells you that you don’t need to pay if it’s after 6pm. I feel I’ve told dozens of visitors that you don’t need to pay the kiosk after 6 and on weekends.
Now the negatives: Touch video screens on every meter? They’ll all be broken within a month or two. Returning to individual meters after being sold that kiosks are cheaper, easier, and allow more flexibility in both use and servicing. None of these are my biggest beef, however.
My biggest concern is that these meters feature cameras that look to be aimed down to capture the license plate of every car that parks. More expansion of our surveillance society. I’m not sure if or how often the Parking Authority currently employs plate-scanning on their meter routes, but I see this as more privacy invasion. I like the current kiosk system. You get a sticker that display’s your payment, and you could even move around downtown & continue to park with the $ you already paid. You simply pay & go anonymously, unlike the kiosks in West Hartford, which require you to enter your plate #. I’m against the WH method.
Maybe the city sees this as a way to locate parking scofflaws who have outstanding tickets, but I still care about privacy.