Have you noticed that it costs more to feed the parking meters in Bridgeville’s lots lately?
The price-per-hour increased from 25 cents to 75 cents—payable in quarters only—earlier this month. The fine for an expired meter rose from $5 to $7.
Frank Daily noticed.
The co-owner of Burgh’s Pizza & Wing Pub came to Monday’s borough council meeting to register his unhappiness with the change and to find out why businesses weren’t notified.
“[We learned about the change] from customers who were walking through our doors and putting money in the meters,” he said.
Borough council didn’t have many answers, though. The rates were changed by the Bridgeville Parking Authority, whose members are appointed by borough council, but which otherwise operates independently.
“At this point,” said council president Michael Tolmer, “what I’ll tell you is that we’ll look into talking to the Parking Authority and finding out what we can do.”
The new meter rates represent a 300 percent cost increase to people using the lots. The higher fines represent a 40 percent increase. That could be add up to a big revenue boost for the Authority if people keep parking and getting fined at the same rate.
That could also be a huge headache for people trying to visit Bridgeville businesses. Unless you walk around with a fistful of quarters at all times, you might find yourself short of the coins you need to spend an hour or two at a local business.
The fare increase puts still leaves Bridgeville about 25 cents-per-hour cheaper than parking in Mt. Lebanon or Pittsburgh’s East End neighborhoods.
Unlike meters in those municipalities, however, Bridgeville’s meters don’t accept cards or paper money.
You can watch Daily’s entire exchange with council here: