My hometown, Indianapolis, is capable of wonders few other cities its size consistently achieve. The latest improvement will show that an upgrade in customer service will improve public perception of the city. And this action will be in an oft-overlooked area: parking meters.
Deputy Mayor Steve Campbell tells the Indianapolis Star that electronic parking meters that take charge cards -- plastic! -- will be a winner with motorists (think: public parking customers) angling for a metered space downtown or in the Northside entertainment distrit of Broad Ripple.
Campbell cites convenience, and of course he's right. But the electronic meters support the image of Indy as a 21st Century World-Class City, which is what all of us want -- at least those people who care about Indy's future. Perception of the city will move up another notch on the hip scale, and that's good news for bringing people back to our fair and hospitable city.
The meters will be tested for 90 days started June 26. The parking rate of 75 cents per hour will stay in place. And, per usual, the parking spaces will have a two-hour limit.
What a convenience this will be! Sometimes, I cannot park downtown or in Broad Ripple because I cannot find a quarter or a dimes or a nickel. That's a pain, especially if I have hundreds of dollars in business riding on finding a quarter.
The electronic meters sound like something Paris or Tokyo or Singapore would install. They're already in several major U.S. cities -- Seattle, Wash., and Washington, D.C., for example.
Mayor Bart Peterson works to make Indianapolis a world-class city, one neighborhood at a time. Now we'll also make Indianapolis a world-class city, one parking meter at a time. Hooray for the Peterson Administration for a great idea carrying a subtle progressive message for our tourists and business/convention guests.
The forecast that these meters might increase parking meter revenue 30 percent can't hurt, either.
Now for another customer-friendly suggestion: How about computerized kiosks around downtown and Broad Ripple where parking tickets and traffic tickets may be paid? How about organizing a transfer service to take drivers to the yard where their cars have been towed?
And how using some of the new revenue to spruce up the parking infraction office at the City-County Building? The meters will be 21st Century. The office is so 1960s. Sure, we now have online payments, and that's great (by plastic, of course).
We cannot have fancy state-of-the-art parking meters and totally cut off the hip look when our parking customers come to the City-County Building. All the positive message will be wiped away. If it means moving the office, so be it. Isn't the Mayor's Action Center just off the City-County Building lobby? Why not move the parking/traffic infraction office into there? It's all about a consistent message and experience, especially for people who are inconvenienced by having their car towed.
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