Meter Change Could Save Drivers Some

On the streets of downtown San Diego each day, motorists scrounge for the proper amount of change to fend off parking tickets that generate about $1.6 million in fines for the city each year.

But, with ever-vigilant meter monitors cruising streets more often than bored teen-agers on a Saturday night, the task has become increasingly difficult.

This week, the City Council bought into a recommendation to find some way to replace the traditional parking meters on city streets that are unsightly, inconvenient and costly.

At the top of a list of alternatives is a city manager’s suggestion to buy or seek donations for a handful of “Parkulators”: personalized private meters the size of pocket calculators.

Purchased with $25, $50 or $100 worth of time, the device fits on a car dashboard, visible to meter readers, and ticks down to zero like any other meter.

“The goal is convenience of use,” said Jonathan Levy, deputy director of the city Engineering Department. “We want to stop the aggravation of going for a two-hour meeting, finding out it was canceled, and knowing you spent $1.50 for three minutes of parking.”

The city’s 4,800 parking meters each bring in an average of $715 in coins per year, or $3.43 million in all.

But, although collection is lucrative, city officials don’t like the look of the meters. Furthermore, they say, they’re too expensive to buy and install at $330 a pop, too costly to empty and maintain, inconvenient for non-coin carriers, and cost the city lost revenue when someone leaves a spot and someone else drives up to grab the remaining time.

By comparison, the “Parkulator,” a disposable $14 meter manufactured in Harrison, Ark., or “Le Piaf,” a reusable $60 device made in Lyon, France, provides receipts, allows a motorist to pay for only the time he uses, and eliminates the need for using coins.

Because the systems are relatively expensive, they may hold more of an appeal for businesses that are willing to pay a little more to avoid parking tickets, officials say.

A number of vendors make the meters, and Levy said he is seeking a donation of machines to stage a “pilot project.” The portable meters could be provided, on a trial basis, for either delivery services or attorneys’ groups who must park downtown as part of their jobs.

“We want them to donate a lot of units to prove what a wonderful project they have so they can convince us to buy thousands of them,” Levy said. “If we can’t find someone to do it for free, we’ll go to competitive bids.”

The Parkulator is already being used in Arlington, Va.; Ft. Lauderdale and Tampa, Fla.; Boulder, Colo.; Louisville, Ky.; Morgantown, W. Va.; Syracuse, N.Y., and Santa Monica. Stan Stockton, a product manager for Duncan Industries, which makes the Parkulator, said some of the cities have used the meters on a trial basis and not ordered more. Other cities are using them extensively.

The portable meter will not relieve a motorist from watching the time, however. The city will continue to maintain and monitor limits as to how long someone may park on local streets.

Levy said the city recognizes the Parkulator’s disadvantages: it may be difficult for parking enforcement officers to see; it takes some time to learn how to use; the disposable devices are expensive to keep purchasing; it does nothing for tourists, and it could lead to liability problems because vandals may steal the devices.

In fact, the idea of portable meters shifts the burden of responsibility for collections from the city to the public. The city does not have to maintain or replace meters nor collect the coins--it gets its money up front.

As a safety precaution, those who buy a device can select a secret code so that it doesn’t work for anyone else in case it is stolen.

In checking with several cities that use them, city traffic engineers found that “no major enforcement problems have been experienced.” City officials in Arlington, Va., found that 78% of those who used the personal meters thought they were more convenient than conventional meters, San Diego traffic engineers said.

Santa Monica city officials started using 200 Parkulators experimentally earlier this year. The city of Los Angeles is considering a program to order operators of delivery trucks to buy Parkulators as a way to limit the time they spend in loading zones.

San Diego City Council members have left it up to traffic engineers to decide what kind of meters to use. Levy said he is also examining the use of automated metering systems that accept credit cards and dollar bills as well as coins.

The new experimental metering system may begin as soon as this summer, Levy said, but not until the Police Department, engineering officials, fiscal managers, city auditors and others hold several meetings to find out how it can begin.