A sidewalk lined with parked cars on a downtown Evanston block. Photo: Eric Fredericks from Rancho Cordova, CA, United States / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
By late January 2014, the City of Evanston had installed close to 200 new parking meters, according to a city staff update, with the goal of finishing the remaining installations by the end of March.
The new equipment replaced coin-only meters. The city had contracted in fiscal year 2013 with Duncan Technologies to supply single-space meters and multi-space pay stations that accept credit cards.
From pilot to citywide change
The project grew out of a test the previous fall. In October 2013, the Daily Northwestern reported that Evanston had installed 50 solar-powered single-space meters and two pay stations that accepted credit cards. The pay stations were on the 1200 block of Chicago Avenue and the 1900 block of Central Street, and the meters were spread along parts of Central Street, Noyes Street, Benson Avenue, Sherman Avenue, Orrington Avenue, Hinman Avenue, Dempster Street, Main Street and Howard Street.
The city asked drivers to weigh in through surveys, online or by text message, until Nov. 5, 2013. Rickey Voss, the city’s revenue and parking manager, said the aim was to convert all payment systems in 2014. Placement recommendations were due by Dec. 12.
The pitch: fewer tickets
Voss argued that card payment would let more drivers pay for the full two hours allowed, reducing tickets from expired meters. Ald. Melissa Wynne, 3rd Ward, who chaired the Transportation and Parking Committee, said she hoped the city would be seen as friendlier to drivers and write fewer citations. Voss also noted that single-space meters cost less than pay stations, though stations look cleaner on the street. The committee had also discussed paying by cell phone tied to a license plate number.
The Daily Northwestern put the program’s cost at about $1.1 million in public money, and Assistant City Manager Martin Lyons said recouping the investment could take more than four years.
Later changes
Evanston kept changing its system. In 2019, the city replaced roughly 1,000 single-space meters with about 80 pay stations, which take coins, cards or payment through a phone app, according to Patch.
Sources: Daily Northwestern, Oct. 18 and Oct. 24, 2013; Patch.
Thomas Brennan covers property taxes, real estate, transit and the local economy for The Evanston Edge.
