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JAMESTOWN, NY (WNY News Now) – Less than a year after the City of Jamestown implemented a new way of paying at parking meters downtown, the system has begun to fail.
The various parking meters across the city were installed in late 2021, with the new online payment system rolled out in July, and now, the internals of the meters have begun to fail this winter.
“You’ll notice that some of the meters have actually been replaced just with the coin,” explained Mayor Eddie Sundquist. “We have kind of retrofitted them to just use the coins, in the meantime. Some meters just the way that they’re shaped cannot handle that, so it does say for the app. But we’re now going on almost two months of not getting these batteries in and we’re having a lot of issues with the company that we’re required to purchase them from as part of our agreement.”
For Councilman Jeff Russell, he has heard concerns with the meters not accepting change, not allowing drivers that are not tech savvy to park in the downtown area.
“Her exact words to me was that she’s not against advancements,“ stated Councilman Russell. “She understands that we need to move forward with technology and not be stuck in the past, but just wanted to make me aware that there are people that are struggling in the senior community with using the app downtown.”
This is also a concern for local businesses.
“She feels like that could potentially drive people away, not want to come down, seniors,“ explained Councilman Russell. “And in her son’s case, wouldn’t want to be frequenting restaurants because of that.”
If you do receive a parking ticket due to the faulty meters, those with the Department of Public Works urges you to contact them at (716) 483-7545.
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