Solar-powered parking meters debut in Timmins

Timmins has decided to go with solar-powered parking meters to cut down on the number of times it needs to change batteries.

Timmins is installing new parking meters and officials have decided to go with solar-powered units to cut down on the number of times it needs to change batteries.

The meters have a sleek new look.

“I like it,” said resident Jacques Richard, adding that he’s waiting to see whether the new meters will hold up in the extreme cold.

The city has already begun swapping out old ones on a number of streets and in the city hall parking lot.

“Our current style of meters are being phased out over the next couple of years,” said city clerk Steph Palmateer.

“We’ve been having issues getting parts for them now and repairing them. So we thought we’d try these solar powered meters to see how they work in our environment. We’re so far, so good, but it’s only been a week.”

The new meters are compatible with the city’s Hot Spot parking app and they also accept coins.

“One of the biggest benefits is we don’t have to replace the battery,” Palmateer said.

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“Our current meters, depending on where the meter is located, if it’s a busy location, we have to replace the battery every about every six months. And then some of the other ones, we have to replace them annually. So that’s very labor intensive.”

The city now needs fewer parking meters because one unit takes care of two spaces. It’s causing a little bit of confusion, but it won’t be long before everybody gets the hang of it.

“It was very simple,” Richard said.

“You just put your coin in, you know, there’s two arrows, one points to the left, one points to the right.”

So far, the city bought 25 of the meters for $30,000 and paid for them with money it collects from its parking meter program.