City Council votes to move ahead with new parking meters

The Spokane City Council voted unanimously Monday to move ahead with a 60-day testing period for new downtown parking meters equipped with vehicle sensors and credit card readers.

Duncan Solutions will begin installing 200 meters this summer, and city and parking officials will be monitoring how well the new technology performs.

Sensors will detect when a vehicle arrives and departs, zeroing out the meter when a vehicle leaves and informing officials if a car has parked without payment.

“It’s not an entitlement,” said Councilwoman Nancy McLaughlin of finding a meter with time on it. “When you leave, you leave.”

The plan calls for the money generated by the new system to roll into a fund to beautify downtown and maintain sidewalks. Two new downtown police officer positions also will be funded by the meter fees.

“This is one part of the puzzle piece for public safety,” Councilman Jon Snyder said.