Parking kiosks go live Friday in Carbon lot
People who utilize the Carbon County parking lot in Jim Thorpe will see changes to the way they pay beginning Friday.
Commissioner Chris Lukasevich, on behalf of the board of commissioners, announced that the lot will “transition to a pay-by-plate parking system at previously metered parking spaces and county lots.”
Visitors and residents will now be able to use the new kiosk system that has been installed throughout the lot and at metered areas to pay for parking. Payment can include cash or debit or credit cards and is also available through the Flowbird app. A 25-cent convenience fee is charged on credit cards.
The county purchased the 15 kiosks for the lot and metered areas on Lehigh Avenue and Susquehanna Street from Butts Ticket Company in Cochranville in August 2019.
The total cost of the purchase was $175,550 and was taken out of the parking fund, which is generated by parking fees in the lot.
In July, the board also purchased three CitePro hand-held enforcement devices from United Public Safety of Fort Washington at a cost of $22,383.64 for the first year and $11,483.64 in years two and three. These devices will be used to read license plates and issue parking tickets.
In September, the county set the parking fees for the county-owned lots under the kiosk system.
According to the ordinance, parking kiosks will be monitored from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.
For those parking in the main county parking lot Monday through Friday, the daily fee will be $8 for automobiles and $15 for buses, campers and vehicles towing trailers.
On weekends and holidays, the fee for the main lot will be $12 for automobiles and $25 for buses, campers and vehicles towing trailers.
Lots along Lehigh Avenue/Route 209 and the Railroad Station/Hooven building will be 50 cents for 30 minutes seven days a week.
On weekends, the administration building and 44/76 Susquehanna St. lots will also be available. The administration building lot will be $12 and the 44/76 Susquehanna St. lot will be 50 cents per 30 minutes.
Lukasevich said detailed parking information can be found at the county’s online Parking Portal at www.carboncounty.com/index.php/191-parking-portal.
In the coming months, instructional videos and an interactive parking map are expected to be added to the portal, he said.