App allows payment for parking meters
PAYING to park in Oamaru just got easier.
The Waitaki District Council has approved a new payment system for parking meters.
PayMyPark is an online service or mobile phone app, which people parking in Oamaru’s central business district can now use to pay for parking.
The town’s 47 parking machines, which were expected to last until 2023, could accept cash, text or credit card. However, this would give people another option, council environmental services manager Jason Evered said.
The system, already used in Dunedin and Timaru, allows motorists to top up and pay from an account.
People can also top up an expired parking meter if, for example, a haircut is taking longer than expected.
At last month’s heritage, environment and regulatory committee meeting, Mr Evered reported that after a period of unacceptable levels of faulty parking machines, ‘‘for the last few weeks, the parking machines have been working correctly with very few out of order’’.
At the time, Cr Guy Percival called for an end to parking meters in Oamaru.
The committee agreed to look at future options for parking in the Oamaru central business district.
The report of parking options is due in February.