Education Edition - 1736 Magazine, Fall 2019

DOWNTOWN PARKING
‘SMART’
PARKING METERS
RECOMMENDED FOR
DOWNTOWN
Hourly charge could be paid using cell phones
By SUSAN McCORD
“Augusta +” could be the name of a new paid parking
space program downtown.
Among the recommendations made by SP+, the city’s
consultant on the metered parking program, is a logo and
other marketing tools to inform the public about the system,
said Jason Sutton, regional manager for SP+.
The firm is recommending implementing paid on-street
parking along Broad Street between the Fifth and 13th street
bridges and on side streets between Reynolds and Greene
streets, Sutton said.
Long-sought by some to increase retail opportunities
downtown, the Augusta Commission agreed last month to
hire SP+ to design a system to bring back to the commission
later for approval. The firm began stakeholder sessions in
October.
At a proposed rate of $1.50 per hour, motorists can pay
either on their cell phones or at one of 50-60 kiosks to park
for a certain amount of time set by the city. They reserve
space by entering their license plate number, he said.
SP+, which has contracts with cities large and small, has
more than 40 percent of parking transactions are done on
cell phones, Sutton said. The kiosks have large LED screens
that “walk (users) through the process,” he said.
The same logo will appear on public parking decks, which
will be priced at a rate lower than the on-street rate, he said.
Parking revenue – which Sutton said would be somewhere
under $1 million the first year – would be returned
to a “parking benefits district” for beautification, repairs,
marketing and additional “ambassadors” for large events, he
said.
The targeted side streets, as well as Greene and Ellis, have
spaces that could be made long-term, employee, residential
or short-term parking.
Scott Fox, of Parkeon, displayed his company’s parking kiosks at an
October session on Augusta’s proposal to implement paid on-street
parking downtown. [SUSAN McCORD/THE AUGUSTA CHRONICLE]
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