New Parking Meters Cause for Rejoicing

How many occasions in a lifetime have we parked our automobiles on a Boston street at a metered space only to find that we did not have quarters to put into the meter?

We would stand there searching our pockets and rummaging in our handbags for quarters.

Some of us after that futile effort would try to change a dollar or two at a local store or at a restaurant across the street and on and on and frankly, that just doesn’t work when you’re in a rush.

The last resort is asking passersby for change, an effort as absurd and depressing as it gets in the modern world we live in.

And that being the case, how many of us have walked away from our automobiles after failing to find change for the meters knowing we were going to receive a $25 ticket for failing to put time onto the meters?

Better yet, how many of us have marveled at the city’s ability to have meter maids affix a $25 violation on our windshield in a timely fashion each time every time?

It is truly one of the wonders of the modern city of Boston that writing costly tickets and placing them on windshields is about the best working municipal service that never seems to fail.

Now comes the new parking meters that accept our debit and credit cards.

Now there are absolutely no excuses for failing to put money into the meter – except those, of course, who are so besieged with debts and obligations that their credit and debit cards won’t have a $2.00 balance to fill the meter.

These new meters will save many of us hundreds of dollars in the years to come.

We suspect that they will save many, many others the price of costly tickets for meter violations.

The new parking meters already installed in and around the downtown and near to the North End and on Newbury Street and Cambridge Street are money savers.

As more and more of these electronic meters are installed, fewer and fewer parking tickets will be written.

We’re not sure that was the strategy but we’re betting that’s what’s going to happen.

It is either that or people parking their automobiles who pay close attention to all their quarters will be lulled into complacency by using more liberally their debit or credit cards for a few hours of parking.

Either way, the new electronic meters for those of us prone to parking tickets is as liberating as having a pocketful of change.