Muni-meters move to Metropolitan Avenue

Queens residents who drive along a stretch of Metropolitan Avenue might find their pockets get a little lighter, now that they won’t have to carry around quarters to feed the meter.
The New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) has installed 21 new muni meters on Metropolitan Avenue between 73rd and 80th Streets replacing the 102 single-spaced meters previously in place.
The muni meters will accept quarters, dollar coins, credit cards and parking cards to give drivers extra options to pay for parking along Metropolitan Avenue.
“Now, if you don’t have $2 in quarters, you still have other paying options,” said Craig Chin, Assistant Press Secretary for the DOT.
Drivers can purchase parking cards through the DOT Web site, by mail or through city store locations in denominations of $20 or $50.
The muni meters are decentralized meters, which allow people to pay for their parking and put the receipt on the dashboard of their car.
The installation of these muni meters is an attempt to improve road management as part of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s PlaNYC initiative.
The DOT expects that the new muni meters will increase parking by 15 percent, as drivers will be allowed to park along the entire curb, rather than follow the arbitrary spacing rules required with single-spaced meters trying to accommodate larger vehicles like SUVs.
“This makes more spaces for parking,” said Naser Durakovic, a resident of Middle Village, who frequently makes trips to Metropolitan Avenue to run errands. “The single-space meters were unsightly. The sidewalks are a lot less cluttered now.”
Muni meters were installed on Union Turnpike in July, and the city has installed those meters throughout the city with plans to continuing doing so in locations where single-spaced meters still exist.