New Rochelle's on-street parking meters—and some spaces—are going to get a lot smarter.
The New Rochelle City Council will vote May 21 to install smart meters that can accept credit cards in addition to quarters on the downtown streets.
"This will bring the 21st century into our parking infrastructure," said Ralph DiBart, executive director of the New Rochelle Downtown Business Improvement District.
The council discussed the proposal at its May 14 meeting.
Development Commissioner Luiz Aragon said that installing the new equipment would increase the number of smart meters to 499 from 53 that were tested.
If approved, 40 sensors, tied into the meters, will be installed as a test.
Aragon said the sensors would enable the city to know if a parked car has been moved or if it was still in the parking space.
He said the sensor would "zero out" the time in the meter once the car is moved so that who ever parked next would have to pay from the first minute.
"That will be a very interesting experience for us to see how that works," Aragon said.
The sensor could also be used to create a smartphone app that could alert people to empty parking spaces.
The smart meters can also eventually be modified to allow payment via a smartphone.
The cost of the project is $270,752, Aragon said, in addition to $32,355 in operating expenses through 2013. Funding will come from the Municipal Impact Fee from the Maple Terrace project, the Parking Fund equipment account and the Parking fund.
The city estimates revenue will increase by over $41,000 in 2013 and almost $215,000 in 2014. Aragon said his office conservatively estimated a 2 percent increase annually through 2018.
City Manager Charles Strome III said a parking study recommended the city phase in the new meters over a three-year period.
The estimated revenue increase, he said, told another story.
"It will make much more sense and have much more impact by doing it upfront," Strome said, "and the parking fund was able to absorb the cost," without having to dip into taxpayer funds.
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