Morgantown will be installing 510 new parking meters, featuring a re-loadable smart card payment option, around the city in the coming weeks.
“The new software in the updated parking meters will allow individuals to load money onto a card at our office to use at the meter,” said Morgantown Parking Authority Director Dana McKenzie. “This way, people will spend less time searching for change in their cars and more time doing what they came downtown to do.”
Only single-space meters mounted on poles are being replaced, he said. Parking lot meters will not be replaced. The new meters still have a payment slot for coins, as well as the smart card and will continue to work with the ParkMobile phone app.
The smart cards have a one-time $5 activation fee and can be loaded with up to $100 at a time. McKenzie said the MPA ordered 1,000 of the cards, which can be purchased at the organization’s office.
“These cards are for those who frequent the downtown on a regular basis for short periods of time,” McKenzie said.
A benefit of the card is customers won’t need to carry change.
The cards have a chip, similar to that on a credit card, which is inserted into a machine to be reloaded, he said. The cards are replacing the current cashkey system which has been around for 20 years.
The current software and hardware is obsolete and there is no longer support to address any problems that might arise with the current system, McKenzie said.
In total, the MPA spent $110,000 on the upgrades, according to McKenzie. That price tag includes meters, auditing device hardware and software.
