[Durham INC] Durham Debuts Digital Pay Stations in Two Downtown Surface Lots

[Blalock, Amy]

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CITY OF DURHAM
Office of Public Affairs
101 City Hall Plaza
Durham, NC 27701


News Release


News Media Contact:
Amy Blalock
Sr. Public Affairs Specialist
(919) 560-4123 x 11253
(919) 475-7735 (cell)
Amy.Blalock at DurhamNC.gov<mailto:Amy.Blalock at DurhamNC.gov>
http://Facebook.com/CityofDurhamNC
http://Twitter.com/CityofDurhamNC


For Immediate Release: September 12, 2013


Durham Debuts Digital Pay Stations in Two Downtown Surface Lots
More Convenient Payment Options Now Available

DURHAM, N.C. - Thanks to a thriving downtown with increased parking demand, the City of Durham has installed new digital pay stations at two City-owned downtown surface lots.

The new digital pay stations, installed in City Surface Lots 8 and 14, will provide easy-to-use and more convenient payment options for parking downtown. City Surface Lot 8 is located on Parrish Street behind the former Durham County Courthouse and City Surface Lot 14 is located on West Morgan Street across from McDonald's.

With these stations, drivers can now pay by cash, coin or credit card. The new pay stations will also now open up City Surface Lot 14 to accommodate both hourly and monthly parking. Before the digital pay station installation, this surface lot was restricted to monthly contract parking only.

According to Mark Ahrendsen, director of the City's Transportation Department, the move to install digital pay stations was an opportunity to provide convenience and diverse payment options for downtown parkers while also increasing revenue and reducing operational costs for the City. "The pay stations will provide hourly parking in Lot 14 and collect revenue from such use as well as reduce the operational costs for Lot 8 by eliminating the need for a parking attendant in this lot," Ahrendsen said. "The pay stations also make it more convenient for downtown parkers since they now have several payment options and increased places to park."

This type of parking system uses numbers assigned to each parking space, which are marked on the ground. When users park their vehicle they should note the space number and then proceed to the digital pay station to purchase the amount of time needed. Signs will designate where the pay-by-space system is in effect and the parking rates are $1 per hour in non-reserved spaces from 8 a.m. until 7p.m., Monday through Friday.

According to Ahrendsen, the digital pay stations are also designed to be theft-resistant to protect cash as well as credit card data. The digital pay stations are equipped with real-time reporting and alarming as well as being a Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) and Payment Application Data Security Standard (PA-DSS) compliant system to ensure credit card data security. Each new digital pay station cost $17,487 and was paid for by revenue from the Parking Fund.

For additional information about City parking services, visit http://durhamnc.gov/ich/op/dot/Pages/Parking.aspx or contact Lanier Parking Solutions at (919) 680-2481.

About the City's Transportation Department
The Transportation Department is responsible for a broad range of transportation services, which include traffic signs and signals, transportation planning, parking operations, street lighting, the taxicab administration and bicycle and pedestrian planning. The City's Transportation Department also oversees the Durham Area Transit Authority (DATA) public transportation system as well as the DATA ACCESS service for persons with disabilities. The City of Durham leads planning functions for the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization (DCHC MPO). The City's Transportation Department helps to strengthen the foundation, enhance the value, and improve the quality and sustainability of neighborhoods that are necessary for a strong and diverse community. For more information, visit http://DurhamNC.gov/ich/op/dot.

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