Meter Madness in Wilmington
By PAT DOLENTE
Updated 4:45 PM EDT, Wed, Jun 24, 2009
If you park in Wilmington, Delaware, expect to be a little lighter in the wallet.
On Wednesday, downtown Wilmington’s parking meters, all 1,000 of them, got a fancy new makeover -- one that will cost you fifty cents more an hour to park.
That’s right -- for the first time in 40 years, the city of Wilmington raised parking prices.
This is what a coin will get you with the new rates. An hour for a dollar, 15 minutes for a quarter, 6 minutes for a dime and a nickel will get you three whole minutes.
And, don’t even think about not paying the new rates. Fines for violating the city’s expired meter laws, as well as non-meter-parking violations, were increased from $25 to $40.
While the project started on Wednesday, it will not fully take effect until July 1. That means that for the next week or so there will be some meters that still only charge fifty cents for an hour.
Mayor James Barker and City Public Works Commissioner Kash Srinivasan urged parkers to check the meters to make sure that they are paying the correct amount.
The city expects the increase in rates to pull in an extra $1.4 million to help offset Wilmington's multi-million dollar deficit.
And the rates still beat parking in Philly.
First Published: Jun 24, 2009 2:36 PM EDT
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