Parking Update: Red Meter Parking

Beginning two years ago, the Borough embarked on a 3-Phase project to upgrade our parking in Bellefonte.  The 1st phase was to provide structural upgrades to the Municipal Lots North, South and West. This phase cost the Borough approximately $500,000.00 and included the installation of 6 KIOSKs which replaced 120 single-spaced parking meters. The removal of the meters allows the Borough Streets staff to plow the lots and get them cleared in 1/2 the time.  There is still some work that will be done in 2022 to the South Lot before this phase is finalized.   The 2nd Phase was to replace the “old” street meters with new street meters.  This had to be completed because parts were no longer available for the older meters and in addition, more people wanted options to pay for parking through credit/debit cards or their smart-phone. We will have the touchless-pay-by-phone option completed by early fall.  Finally, phase 3 was to look at our “red” single space metered Long-Term Parking. Due to the cost of the new single space meters, it was cost prohibitive to try and replace those so instead we decided to create a Long-Term Parking area for Residents and Commuters.  No longer do people have to constantly “feed” the meters. It simply requires a one-time registration on our website where people can either set it up as a recurring expense or they have the option to do it monthly.  The Long-Term Parking spaces are designated with red paint and are designed for the downtown workforce to provide a cheaper parking area with the impact of freeing up the downtown spaces for business patrons. These areas also provide one-hour of free parking to anyone.

 

The idea behind everything that has been done to date is to ensure we are doing all we can to make parking easier, more flexible and providing maximum accessibility for patrons wanting to access downtown businesses.  We recognize there are challenges and many of those relate to the changes we have made. We will continue to listen to ideas and also monitor and evaluate Borough parking as a whole.  We do appreciate our residents’ understanding and patience as we continue to finish our efforts related to parking.  Should anyone have questions related to parking, please feel free to contact the Borough at 355-1501 extension 210.