APPLETON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – App-only parking meters won’t be coming to Appleton anytime soon. The city tested the idea out, but it didn’t turn out the way some expected.
Parking meters on a stretch of downtown Appleton seemed to disappear for a short period of time, but that didn’t mean parking was free.
“The thought was, what if we could find some areas that we could have a method of payment, but without the meters,” director of public works for the city of Appleton Paul Vandahey explained.
Like many other cities across the country, Appleton started allowing people to pay for parking using two methods: with good old-fashioned coins, or through the Passport Parking mobile app.
The city has always used the app since then but, during this trial period, what the city did was cover up the meters, so that the app was the only way for people to pay for parking.
“The hope was, at these meters, we could eliminate the meters, but still get the revenue; we’d still have the turnover.”
A pilot test was done on 30 meters along Morrison Street, just north of College Avenue.
It wouldn’t be long before feedback began pouring in from nearby businesses and organizations, and it wasn’t all good.
“Some of their concerns were, maybe elderly customers that aren’t comfortable using credit cards and giving out their information, and then also just customers in this area that just said, ‘You know, I don’t have a credit card, and therefore really want to just have the option of paying with coins,’” said Vandahey.
Believe or not, there are still people who don’t own cell phones today, so Vandahey says that was something else that was also presented.
After the feedback they received, city officials decided to bring the meters and the two payment options back.
But the city isn’t giving up on the app-exclusive meter idea of just yet.
“We are maybe going to look for another neighborhood, and maybe try another pilot, and see if we could just find the right location,” Vandahey said.
City officials say their parking meters are getting older, and they’ll need to be replaced eventually.
It would cost about $250,000 to do that.
