EUGENE, Ore. – Business owners in Eugene are ecstatic with the city’s new plan of implementing new smart parking meters throughout downtown.
City staff said 280 new meters are being installed in a 12 block area this week.
They said the new meters will not only accept coins and credit cards, drivers can also pay using Apple and Google Pay. They can also use the “Park Smarter” mobile phone app and in-vehicle dash payment.
KEZI 9 News spoke with Nicole Desch, the President of the Downtown Eugene Merchants. She said most, if not all of the 80 businesses in their group support the new meters.
“One of the complaints we hear frequently from customers is that they have a hard time finding parking,” said Desch. “So we’re hoping that with the meters, this will increase turnover and have more available spaces for our customers to park at.”
She said for those who are having trouble adjusting to the new meters, the city owned parking garages are free for the first hour and free all weekend.
The city plans to have all the smart meters installed by the end of the week.
