New smart parking meters with higher rates could start appearing on downtown streets by late spring.
The Metro Council on Wednesday, Feb. 24, approved two measures proposed by the Broome administration that will clear the way for the new technology.
One was a resolution to allocate up to $875,000 for the purchase of smart parking kiosks, which cover multiple spaces, and single-spaced “lollipop” meters. The administration has selected a vendor, FlowBird, to provide and monitor the meters.
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The other measure was an ordinance to increase the parking rate downtown from $.50 per hour to $1 per hour, though the new rate will not go into effect until July 1.
Director of Purchasing Kris Goranson says the contract with FlowBird should be finalized in the next couple of weeks and that meters could start arriving as soon as six to eight weeks.
The administration has been trying to overhaul the downtown parking system for several years and in recent months has made changes to the way city-owned parking garages are operated and managed.
But figuring how to implement a system for street parking that will make money for the city while also enabling more people to park downtown—and pay for it—has proved tricky.
Among the factors that went into the lengthy process was determining what kind of equipment is most efficient, how many meters or kiosks or both to install, where to put them, how to price them, how to manage them, and how to enforce the collection of fines.
The new equipment will be solar-powered, which will make installation easy, and accept digital payments from a credit card or a smartphone app, though the single-spaced meters will still accept coins.
The total number of metered spaces covered by the new equipment, 970, will remain the same. But the new smart equipment will hopefully incentivize more people to pay for parking and to adhere to time limits, which, in theory, will enable more people to park on the street.
Most of those are in the downtown area, though a handful are located on Chimes and State streets just outside the North Gates of the LSU campus.
The rate increase will not go into effect until midyear, primarily out of concern for small businesses downtown that have been adversely impacted by the pandemic.
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One key piece missing from the new plans is an attempt to step up enforcement. Baton Rouge doesn’t have a dedicated parking enforcement division. Those duties fall to the Baton Rouge Police Department.
For now, Goranson says, that system will remain in place.
This story originally appeared in the Friday, Feb. 26, edition of Daily Report. To keep up with Baton Rouge business and politics, subscribe to the free Daily Report e-newsletter here.