New parking meters installed in NOTL are much improved

A Niagara-on-the-Lake councillor who pushed during recent budget deliberations for new parking meters in the Old Town is satisfied with the results. 

Thirty machines have been installed in the heritage district in recent weeks and Coun. Gary Burroughs says “complaints are way down.” 

Parking in the heritage district has been an ongoing topic since most of the meters in the area stopped accepting credit cards in early 2023, and began only taking coins or payment through the HonkMobile app. A report to council on June 27, 2023, said the town’s current parking machines stopped accepting credit cards earlier in the year due to aging infrastructure and new credit card payment protocols. The town’s machines, installed about 10 years ago, only had magnetic stripe readers, while newer payment protocols require chip readers and pin pads to authorize transactions.

Installation of the new equipment began in May and the 30 machines that have replaced the old ones are along Queen Street and its nearby side streets. 

The new parking machines accept credit, debit, and coin payments. Online payment options remain available through the Honk Mobile app and a new online platform, ParkedIn. Both online payment methods accept Visa, Visa Debit, MasterCard, Masterpass, American Express, and PayPal. 

Burroughs said he’s witnessed people paying without difficulty. “Seeing people be able to use them is the biggest thing — even more than the money we’re making,” he said. 

The town budgeted $400,000 in 2024 for the new machines. During budget talks, staff said a phased-in approach with machines being replaced would be the first step. 

But on the town’s website, it says 30 are already in operation, which Burroughs is pleased with. “Staff must’ve worked very hard to get it done,” he said. 

While the long-time local politician is satisfied with the upgrades, he said one is still needed at the Melville Dock parking lot. 

He would also like to see the town create more unpaid parking spaces that could be used by staff of local hotels, restaurants, and shops. 

A page dedicated to parking matters on the town’s website, forwarded by spokesperson Marah Minor when The Local inquired about the new machines, says all the old machines have been removed. 

The cost to park is $5 per hour for a maximum of eight hours for $40. 

In early May, Kathy Weiss was appointed interim executive director of the local chamber of commerce. 

While many of the parking meter problems were before her time in that role, she said in the past it had happened all the time” that visitors would coming to the chamber office on Queen Street when they were having issues with the machines. 

She said things “are a lot better” when it comes to their functionality, but said there are a few minor tweaks that could be made, based on comments some visitors bring into the chamber. 

One is that the sun causes issues with reflections on some machines occasionally. “We have to go out and hold our hand over it,” she said, referring to instances when people have had this problem. She suggested “little visors” could be a solution. 

When people have received fines, the chamber building is often their next visit. But the town should have signage, especially for people visiting on holidays and weekends, explaining what to do if they get a ticket, she said. “They’ll get a fine and won’t know where to pay for it.”

She said there is a box where the shuttle bus departs behind the Court House, in the town parking lot, that is meant for collecting fines, but is not marked. 

Precise ParkLink is the company that installed the 30 parking machines, which completed the planned upgrades at this time, said town spokesperson Marah Minor. 

Previously, there were 57 machines in the heritage district, but due to the increased use of the Honk Mobile app and alternative smartphone payment options, in many locations, one new machine has replaced two former machines, she explained. 

Four of the old machines are still operational at the old hospital site lot.

Residents can purchase parking passes for $30 per calendar year, allowing up to three hours of free parking in the Old Town.