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Edmonton fades from all Epark machines, the system used to pay the price of parking lots in the streets and in City Parkades and an elderly person is concerned that the change will be difficult for those who cannot reach the phone.
Gradually get rid of machines starting next month and drivers will now have to use the Hotspot application or website to pay.
Cathy McLean, who worked for 18 years at the center of the elderly in Skkana, is now the elderly that the decision is not a friend of the age.
“I am terrified,” McLean said.
“Many elderly people are still driving but they do not have a mobile phone, or a computer, and they are not happy with the need to use technology in any way or shape. So it will be a problem for them to find enough situations.”
Jenny Albrez, General Supervisor for Planning and Clearing with Edmonton, said that a gradual approach is followed, starting with the machines with the least use.
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Between April 14 and May 31, machines will be removed in North Edge, Alberta Street, Kingsmai, Stone Blain, 124 Street, Old Strathcon.
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Then from May 15 to July 31, it will be removed from the city center, including areas near the Rogers Bliss and Parks in the city hall and Stanley A. Milner and Canada Library.
Albrez said that for those who do not have data or smartphone, they can pay through a phone call.
But there is hunting: You must have an existing account because the company will not accept credit card information over the phone. New users can create an online account before leaving the house, then call the Hotspot point to inform them of the area where they stop and the period in which it will be stopped.
If you do not have a phone or leave it at home? You are lucky.
“We have other parking lots on the street-whether it is open to cars, or parking lots for time, or if there is no other option to go to private parking options,” Albars said.
“We know it is a transitional period for people.”
Albrez said that the machines were to be replaced because the city’s contract with the seller was ending this year, and technology was not compatible with payment standards. They only accept magnetic credit cards, not the pattern of chip and garment that has become more common.
When the city runs the numbers on the cost of replacing the outdated public parking machines, I found that the price of $ 2.8 million was very high.
Because of these factors and the cost of replacement, the city council in the fall of 2024 decided to stop it.
McLean said she worked well with the typical retirement era, which kept a constant knowledge of technology. But by working with the elderly, she saw directly what the effect of change is like this.
“I know that many people have phones at the present time, but what if they do not have money to buy one?
She said when she faced a mark telling them to download the application, some people may turn and return home.
“I don’t know how to make this work for everyone.”
One of the other drivers who will see in the coming months is that the limits of parking for two hours from Epark areas have been removed in the evening and weekend holidays. This change comes into effect on July 1.
