March 31, 2007
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NEWS: NJ Meters to Get Smart?Red Bank, New Jersey RiverCenter authorities are contemplating the purchase of vending machines that dispense debit cards that are able to be used in borough parking meters, states a news brief in yesterday's Asbury Park Press newspaper. The smart cards, as the plastic is so named, are currently in use and for sale at borough hall in denominations of $20 increments. Almost a full two year after the cards were introduced, however, there are still no machines currently offering them for sale, and the estimated majority of shoppers and merchants aren't familiar with them.
The card is akin to a Metro Card, the cards used on New York subways and buses, only for use in paying for time on parking meters. When slid through a corresponding reader on a New Jersey parking meter, an indicator light on the device flashes with each 25 cent time increment taken from the card. In a real advantage over traditional coin time purchase, those customers who return earlier than planned can reswipe the card through the meter to be credited for time they will not end up using. Since the machines handily permit users to get refunds for non-expired meter time, a driver with ample credit on the card can over-purchase time when parking, and avoid a $38 parking ticket with more confidence than someone paying in advance with traditional coins.
The high-tech vending machines are but one of a handful of considered uses for the $75,000 set aside for parking improvements in RiverCenter's approved 2007 budget of $604,000. That figure is quite a boost from the present allotment of $434,000, and speaks to the recent expansion to the part of the West Side of the Special Improvement District that falls under RiverCenter's governance, says a rep. A special tax for businesses in the annex was approved, and will hit in September. An alternate usage being considered for the $75,000 is improved signage both going into and within the confines of the borough's downtown parking lots.
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