Time's running out for Westmount's aging parking meters

"We're doing sort of a preliminary feasibility study on what type of technology, what's available on the market," said Director General Duncan Campbell. "The old electro-mechanical or electronic meters have been around for a long time, but there's a lot of new technology on the market now — more smart technology. " … We're really just listening to suppliers tell us what's available currently on the market, but we haven't really made any decision on recommendations or orientations on whatever we want to do. But we realize that the meters we have, their life is pretty much done. So we have to replace them."

The first parking meters were invented during the 1930s and were entirely mechanical. Some of the first improvements took place during the 1980s, when circuit boards replaced many internal mechanical components, making external digital readouts possible.

Some of the latest technology allows for payment with credit cards and is wireless. Other advancements include payment by mobile phone and sensors that tell attendants when a parking space has been vacated. "There are a lot of sophisticated options out there for us," said Campbell. "I think we realize that the life of the mechanical meter is passé, so we have to look at what's available to us."

As to whether the new-style meters will soon start appearing on Westmount's streets, he, added, "That was our proposal to council, that we would look at it in 2009, and then perhaps make a recommendation to start something before the end of this year. I can't say at this point in time. "It will depend on what we choose and how detailed the installation may be. It may also mean that we look at our current parking policy, as well … There are smart meters that will detect that a car hasn't moved and consequently if you want to refill it with another two hours, it will not accept you money. That's a for-instance. That's not necessarily what we're going to do here."

Photo: Martin C. Barry