Evanston is asking residents to weigh in on new parking meters and pay stations recently installed across the city.
Drivers are now able to use credit cards at the 50 new, solar-powered meters and two new stations, all of which the city is testing out to prepare for future upgrades. The changes are being made for environmental and convenience purposes, according to the city.
The city is encouraging residents to take surveys, online or by text message, to determine “which technology people would prefer — the pay station or the single head meter,” city parking manager Rick Voss said. The survey results will help decide which payment method will be used in upcoming upgrades across the city.
The surveys will be open until Nov. 5, and Voss said he hopes to have all the city’s parking payment systems converted next year.
“We’re still going to have some other processes to go through,” Voss said. “My ultimate plan is hopefully to have them in by the end of March.”
The two pay stations are located in the 1200 block of Chicago Avenue and the 1900 block of Central Street. The single-space meters are scattered along blocks of Central Street, Noyes Street, Benson Avenue, Sherman Avenue, Orrington Avenue, Hinman Avenue, Dempster Street, Main Street and Howard Street.
The upgrades may allow drivers to pay by phone in the future, the city said.
— Jeanne Kuang
