MANCHESTER, NH – By tomorrow, Manchester residents could own a small piece of parking history.
The city is selling retired parking meters to the public beginning Friday, May 8, as Manchester completes its transition to newer parking technology. The meters will be available for $15 each, cash only, while supplies last.
Parking Director Faye Morrison said the city has about 300 old meters available and expects many to go quickly.
“A lot of people actually have been asking what we’re going to do with the old ones,” Morrison said, noting city staff and parking enthusiasts alike have shown interest.
Morrison admits she’s a “parking nerd” herself and still keeps old meters from previous jobs, like a small one from Medford, Mass, she keeps in her office at the Victory Parking Garage. “The old stuff is history,” she said.
The meters are being retired because many were aging out of service, with replacement parts no longer available. The city upgraded to a newer system as part of a broader modernization effort that also included garage lighting improvements.
Manchester recently installed new parking kiosks throughout downtown. Morrison acknowledged some users initially had trouble activating the screens in bright sunlight, prompting the city to add stickers instructing people to “press the green checkmark to begin.”
As for what someone might do with an old parking meter?
One suggestion floated during the interview: placing one in the driveway to charge teenagers for parking if chores go unfinished.
The city has removed the locks from all meters before resale “so they can’t be reused in any nefarious way,” Morrison said, with a smile.
People interested in purchasing a meter (top part only – you gotta create your own pole or base) must appear in person and pay at the parking office located at the Victory Garage, 25 Vine St., before picking one up from staff. Sales will take place Friday, May 8 during business hours, 8 a.m. p 5 p.m. and again the following Friday, with additional pickups possible afterward, for as long as they last.