No one likes to pay to park, especially in downtown Tulsa and it only makes it worse when the meter doesn’t work properly.
Mark Hogan, Director of Asset Management for the City of Tulsa, told KRMG most meters need to be replaced after about seven years. Hogan says the meters in downtown Tulsa right now are 10 to 12 years old.
“The parts are getting hard, if not impossible to come by; the meter isn’t made anymore.” Hogan said. “The screens are going bad; some of them are impossible to see.” He added.
Hogan said newer systems allow drivers to park and pay by an app on your smartphone, among other ways.
Hogan said they’ve had to combine parts from several old meters just to get one that works. So now the city is shopping around at new parking meters, but there are more options than you’d think.
The cost of replacing all of the parking meters is unknown at this point. Once the city picks a new model, then we will know what it will cost and from where the city will get the money.