The College Park City Council debated options to partially or fully replace parking meters across the city during its meeting Tuesday.
Twelve of the 16 identified pay stations in the city have reached their life expectancy of seven to 10 years, according to city documents. The seven oldest parking meters in the city, which are in the College Park Shopping Center and on College Avenue, are in their 15th years, Jim Miller, the city’s parking enforcement manager, said during the meeting.
Many parking meters have been out of service in recent months due to the models’ age and a shortage of available parts, Miller explained.
The Meter Replacement Program initially offered two possible solutions to address outdated pay stations in the city. The first option was to replace all 16 city pay stations, while the second only includes replacements for the seven oldest pay stations, according to Miller.
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The city would complete the replacement process for each proposed option over the next three or four fiscal years if it stays with its current vendor, according to city documents.
The estimated cost of replacing all 16 pay stations ranges from $150,000 to $286,000, city documents state. The city’s current 2025 fiscal budget would need to be amended to include the program cost and future parking meter maintenance, according to the documents.
District 2 council members Susan Whitney and Llatetra Esters expressed their support for replacing all College Park parking meters during Tuesday’s meeting.
“It’s really about accessibility and varied options for our residents and the commercial businesses in our city,” Esters said.
In August and September, two more options were presented to the council after it approved the 2025 fiscal year budget, according to city documents.
The third option, according to Miller, is to replace 11 of the 16 pay stations and remove the other five pay stations located throughout the Terrapin Row development near the University of Maryland’s campus. The option would retain a mobile payment app instead of parking meters and implement single-space smart meters for short-term parking.
Miller added that city staff is still considering using a parking app rather than physical stations, which only accept cash payments.
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District 3 council member John Rigg said although parking app usage is growing, the city must continue to offer cash, credit and debit card payment options for the immediate future.
Apps can be helpful when used correctly, he said, but they can lead to some people not paying for parking.
Student liaison Erica Otte highlighted that many visitors who park by Terrapin Row are older caregivers or relatives, who may find it more difficult to navigate an app.
“One-time users aren’t going to download the app,” the senior government and politics major said. “They aren’t going to keep it.”
Miller said the fourth replacement program option would replace 11 pay stations and remove five stations in the College Park Shopping Center and smart meters behind the development.
The council will head to a closed-session discussion about funding the Meter Replacement Program.
