New Meters Coming to Easton Starting Friday

City expects new credit card meters, other changes, to begin next month.

Drivers in Easton could start seeing new credit card meters around the city starting Friday. According to the city parking plan available on the Easton website new meters will start going in downtown in two phases: March 1 to the 15th, March 15th to March 31. With these changes comes a price increase: it will now cost $1 an hour to park at the meters, up from 50 cents per hour. The city will put the meters on: During that time, the city will also replace some its existing coin operated meters with newer coin operated meters. New parking enforcement hours—9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday-Saturday, noon to 6 p.m. Sunday—will go into effect April 1. April 1 also marks the start of Easton's new fine reduction program for people who pay their tickets …

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The Worst Place to Park in Easton?

City officials frustrated by towing situation at downtown parking lot.

It's a Saturday night. You've come to Easton to eat, drink or socialize. You're driving around, looking for a place to park, and you spot it: the Bank of America building, and its parking lot. Leaving your car there might seem tempting, but it's a bad idea. People who park in that lot -- who aren't there on business -- are finding their cars towed by property owner Riverstar Properties, and paying a $240 fee to get them back. Easton officials say Riverstar has every right to do this. Still, it's a situation that's frustrated them for some time.  “It’s like a trap,” City Councilman Jeff Warren said at last week's council meeting. He and his colleagues had just heard from Nanet Peterson, a Bethlehem resident who had come to Easton on …

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You'll Pay More to Park in Easton by April

City officials say it could take several weeks to install new parking meters.

By law, Easton's new parking ordinance -- which changes the city's parking hours, the cost of parking and some of the meters themselves -- can go into effect today. City Council approved the changes last month, and they were due to become effective 30 days later. The reality is somewhat trickier. City administrator Glenn Steckman said he hopes to have most of the new meters in place by early April. “We’re looking at taking down 500 meter heads," Steckman told City Council Wednesday night. "That’s not a 'you do it in a day or two' project.”   The new meters -- similar to the ones the city has placed near the Northampton County Government Center -- can take both quarters and credit/debit cards. Parking will now cost $1 an hour, rather than …

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How to Remove Easton's Parking Meters

Blogger Andy Novick says the movie Cool Hand Luke provides a lesson on how to get rid of old parking meters in Easton.

Do You Like Easton's New Parking Plan?

Credit card meters are coming to Easton. What do you think?

Mayor Sal Panto says it's his number one complaint about parking in Easton: meters that only take quarters. That's going to change next year, when the city installs new parking meters that can take credit cards. It's part of a larger set of changes to Easton's parking system proposed in the 2013 budget. The city would also raise the cost of downtown meters from 50 to 75 cents an hour, extend the parking enforcement hours until 8 p.m., and begin enforcing parking at some downtown meters on Sundays.  What do you think? Are you happy with the idea of credit card meters? Unhappy with everything? Tell us in the comments, and take our poll.

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From the Editor's Desk

Poll: Changing Easton's Parking Hours

Easton could alter the hours on its downtown parking meters. What do you think?

Easton's parking study recommends a number of changes to the city's parking rates and rules. Among them: altering Easton's parking enforcement hours at meters, so they'd run from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., rather than 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Personally, I like the way things are now; I like the idea of being able to go Downtown after 6 in the evening and not to worry about whether I have quarters.  But that's just me. What do you think? Take our poll below, and tell us what you think in the comments.

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Jerry Thomas

6:15 am on Thursday, May 10, 2012

It was not a "red" meter and from talking with folks that work and visit downtown often, this is apparently not an uncommon event. I'm not sure how the system works, but I was told that there are sensors to detect vehicles in the space and this is supposed to cause some series of events. Seems like these systems are not working consistently and the city is raking in the money while the user gets …   more ›