Lexington, KY - When the Lexington and Fayette County Parking Authority, LexPark, began installing four new solar powered Pay & Display parking meters in the Chevy Chase shopping area along Euclid Avenue and High Street in January, some merchants thought the new technology might deter shoppers in the packed commercial district.
For one thing, the new meters, which are intended to replace about 10 of the old meters each, require users to walk to a new machine, pay for parking time, then return their car to display the receipt before continuing to their destination - a cumbersome procedure compared to simply stepping out of your car and plopping a few coins into the old meters, especially in the event of inclement weather or elderly shoppers.
In early February, concerned merchants met with representatives from LexPark to address this and other parking issues. The conclusion, according to Lexington and Fayette County Parking Authority executive director Gary Means, would be a period of close monitoring and education for potential new users while the two systems, the old and the new meters, are both in place through the end of April. Means said LexPark plans on distributing more brochures explaining the Pay & Display meters and will even station employees in the Chevy Chase area to personally assist users in getting acquainted with the new system.
But, Means admits, there won't be a solution to the initial complaint of customers having to walk extra steps before shopping. "That's a perceived negative where there isn't anything you can do to get around it," he said. "That's how this particular technology works."
However Means feels the new machines' benefits, which include coin, bill and card paying options; greater auditing capabilities of the money in the machines; electronic notification during malfunctions; and technologies that can help bolster Lexington's "green" image, such as the solar panels, will win people over once they become better acclimated to the system.
"It's going to be a lot like the ATM machines when they first came out," Means said. "People would say, 'I'd rather deal with a teller. I don't like these new machines.' And now everybody would almost rather go to an ATM than go into the bank."
What also resonated with Means during the February meeting with the Chevy Chase merchants wasn't a complete disdain for the new Pay & Display system, but a growing concern over parking in the close vicinity in general.
Out of the conversations, LexPark has decided to conduct a small area parking study, in conjunction with the observations with the new and old parking meters, to hopefully identify other parking areas and spaces that are underutilized in the immediate corridor, such as with the banks along Euclid Avenue and even the Kroger parking lot, and nearby neighborhoods that could be made available to customers as well as employees in Chevy Chase.
Some possible outcomes could include leasing predominantly unused spaces for small monthly fees or creating residential permit parking spaces in the surrounding neighborhoods. In either case, Means points out that LexPark has no authority over off-street or non-metered parking, and the organization would simply function as a "broker" between merchants and other parties to find the best solution.
"We would hope that at the end of the April period that we would have some recommendations which could include something which would go before council," he said.
The first community meeting to discuss potential goals from the small area parking study will be at 6:30 p.m. March 9 at Buddy's Bar & Grille (845 E. High St). Means hopes to assemble key stakeholders in the area along with any interested parties for the discussion. For more information, visit www.lexpark.org or e-mail gmeans@lfucg.com.