By C. Gary Greenham
The City of Ottawa is changing the ways to pay for parking because people don’t like change — or at least carrying it around in their pockets.
In recent months, Ottawa has made modifications such as adding pay-and-display machines to its parking situation to minimize the importance of having coins to pay for parking.
The city has introduced pay-and-display machines at two parking lots, one on 31 Gloucester St. and the other on 190 Slater St.
Because The Bank of Nova Scotia is the corporate bank for the city and the bank deals only with Visa, the pay-and- display machines only accept that credit card as well as the more traditional method, coins.
“People don’t find it convenient to always be prepared with coins for parking meters,” says Peter Bula, parking design and development officer for the City of Ottawa.
Josh Proll, 25, says he doesn’t often carry coins with him and says parking can be a hassle.
“I like this (parking option) a lot because I can use my credit card,” says Proll of the Gloucester Street pay and display lot.
“But there are only two of these lots in the area. I am sort of out of luck at the other parking spots that don’t have this credit card option.”
Proll is not the only motorist who prefers using a credit card. Bula says 20 to 30 per cent of the pay and display mach-ines’ transactions are Visa.
As well as taking Visa, the pay-and- display machines issue a receipt that can be used for filing income tax returns.
“I guess these receipts you get can be helpful at tax time,” says Proll.
“So I hang on to them for that reason. You don’t get a receipt at a regular metre.”
Friday’s Roast Beef House & Piano Parlour on Elgin Street has the advantage of being located right next to a pay-and-display parking lot.
“The people can pay the same as meter parking but they can put in as much as they need and not have to keep running out of the restaurant to their meter and putting more money in. That’s a fairly big plus,” says a Friday’s spokesperson.
Motorists will soon find enhancements at the regular parking meters as well.
Smart cards, which serve as pre-paid parking cards, will soon be available in $25 and $50 denominations.
Bula says the smart cards are not a money making venture for the city. The cards are there for the motorist’s convenience.
“The actual smart card isn’t making the city any money at all,” Bula says.
“All we’re doing is providing a service to the public and these cards are eliminating the change and using a card.”
As it stands, the pay and display machines aren’t yet able to accept smart cards. However, Bula says the machines are still six months away.