MEDIA ADVISORY

 

 

 

 Mayor: Jennifer P. Dougherty

                                   

CONTACT: Nancy Gregg Poss, Public Information Officer, 301-360-3842

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  Friday, October 31, 2003

 

CITY PAY AND DISPLAY UNIT GOES LIVE ON MONDAY

 

Frederick, Md. --- The City of Frederick is continuing to test new technology and create user-friendly parking devices within the City limits.  Effective Monday, November 3, the parkers on W. Patrick Street will notice a difference in parking meters.  The meters have been removed and replaced by a “pay and display” unit.  The test unit allows a parker to purchase up to two hours of parking, just like a regular parking meter.   The machine will take coins, single dollar bills and eventually credit cards.  Once you purchase your parking the unit will print a ticket that parkers will display on the interior of the vehicle windshields. 

 

The “pay and display” unit eliminates the need for one meter per parking place.  Parking restrictions and fines have not been changed during this test period. 

 

The City notes several advantages to pay and display system such as; increasing sidewalk space, relieving man-hours due to coin collection operations, and enhancing the ascetics of the downtown area. 

 

This unit will remain in place for up to six months. 

 

At 10:45 a.m., on Monday, November 3, Mayor Dougherty will personally demonstrate how to use the new unit.  The unit is located in the front of the Weinberg Center for the Arts.    Press and public are encouraged to attend. 

 

The City also wants to thank everyone who participated in the survey regarding the Satellite Parking Shuttle Service. This sampling of potential users was intended to provide information to develop a plan of implementation for satellite parking.  The target audience was the all day parkers who park their cars in the morning and do not return until the evening.  Based on the sampling of the potential users of the satellite program, we expect this program to be successful. 

 

Goals of the Satellite Parking Program are:

  1. Provide alternative parking for our customers
  2. Provide low-cost alternative to downtown parking
  3. Offer options for parkers displaced by the impending construction boom in the downtown area.

 

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