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by: Anum Siddiqui Posted: Oct 14, 2022 / 08:50 PM CDT Updated: Oct

by: Anum Siddiqui

Posted: Oct 14, 2022 / 08:50 PM CDT

Updated: Oct 14, 2022 / 09:20 PM CDT

BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — It's out with the old and in with the new as Baton Rouge replaces outdated parking meters with solar-powered parking kiosks throughout downtown.

East Baton Rouge Parish spokesperson Mark Armstrong says the current meters are from the 60s–causing them to break easily and even get stolen. Armstrong says this has been on the city's to-do list for years. There have been some setbacks, because of supply chain issues. He understands the meters are old-fashioned, hurting economic growth.

"Pull up your app and pay, it's very simple, said Armstrong. "And it will also accept coins if you’re someone who's older and doesn't do the app thing."

"They were hard to do maintenance because they were so outdated," said Armstrong. "Right now there is not as much control as there could be. That is detrimental to our downtown economy where someone may just park there all day long."

Those who work downtown say they are tired of getting a ticket when a meter is broken.

"It's about time," said Kim Price, who works downtown. "It's safer you don't have to worry about a penny, dime, or nickel."

The city expects the parking kiosks to bring in about $750,000 annually. That money will go to the city's general fund.

"Street parking is one of the most important things to your downtown economy, so proper street managing is essential," said Armstrong.

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