The West Virginia University Department of Transportation and Parking will begin using pay parking meters in some short-term lots starting the week of Sept. 17. They will be located in the short-term parking lots at the Mountainlair garage and Short-term Parking Area 9 on Fine Arts Drive across from the Creative Arts Center. Parking rates will remain the same.
“The new meters are easy to use and intuitive,” said Eric Rosie, assistant director of parking management. “They work in much the same way as a regular meter, but deliver improved benefits, such as a range of new payment options.”
The permit system will be different in these lots as a parking customer will only need to identify what parking space their car is in and pay for the time they need. For these two lots, there is no need to return to the car to display the permit on the car’s dashboard as had been the procedure in the past. The meters will accept coins, bills, credit cards, and issue receipts that have the date and time of purchase plus the space in which the vehicle is located.
The Short-term Parking Area 9 meters will have solar panels attached to them that will generate the electricity needed to operate the parking meter. This not only provides a sustainable use of a renewable energy source, but also savings because an electrical installation on the site was unnecessary. The solar panels make the parking meters movable in the event that the lot converts back to a permit lot.
The goal of the Transportation and Parking office in installing the new parking meters is to provide the public with a greater range of options and increased convenience when paying for parking. In addition, the new meters will reduce the cost of maintenance and collection of revenue. It is envisioned that the remaining old pay and display parking meters used in other short-term lots will be replaced with this new payment technology over the next three to four years.
Please contact the Parking Office at 304-293-5502 with any questions.
-WVU-
CONTACT: Eric Rosie, assistant director, parking management
(304) 293-6445, Eric.Rosie@mail.wvu.edu
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