Press-Republican

Local News

Discussion

PLEASE NOTE: There is a 150 word maximum for comments. All comments greater than 150 words in length will be deleted in their entirety.

ALSO NOTE: Derisive name-calling of an individual or group will result in the entire comment being deleted. This includes the terms "stupid" and "idiot" and similar references.

Welcome to our new online comments feature. Before you can join the discussion, you must first register with Disqus and verify your email address.

Once you do, your comments will post after they have been reviewed by a moderator.

We welcome your thoughts and your opinions, including unpopular ones. We ask only that you keep the conversation civil and clean.

Not all comments are deemed printable. Some are disqualified, at the newspaper’s discretion, for a number of reasons. Here are some typical practices to avoid in trying to get your comment printed:

There is a 150 word maximum for comments. All comments greater than 150 words in length will be deleted in their entirety.

Don’t state as a fact something that is unsubstantiated or that our editors wouldn't know to be true.

Don’t presume someone’s guilt in a case when it hasn't been established by a court.

Don’t assail or impugn an identifiable individual or group. If you have that kind of criticism, sign your name and submit it as a Letter to the Editor. (There is some leeway on this in connection with public officials, but it is not unconditional.)

Don’t use profanity. This includes the term “tea bagger.”

Don’t be incendiary or tasteless. Those qualities are subjective, of course, and our editors will be the arbiters.

Do not identify yourself in the main content area of the article content form. Only by enforcing this rule can the moderators prevent unscrupulous commenters from falsely identifying themselves as someone they are not.

Don't type in all caps. It is considered the Internet equivalent of shouting.

In sports articles, do not criticize officiating.

Remember, moderators are not allowed to edit any article comments. If an article comment fails any of the above criteria, the entire comment will be deleted.

We monitor comments Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Approval of comments outside these times may be delayed.
comments powered by Disqus
August 21, 2008

Placid parking goes high tech

Pay by credit card at Main Street sites, as board orders new meters

By JACOB RESNECK

LAKE PLACID -- New parking meters are on order for the Village of Lake Placid.

The move came following more than a year of wrangling between village officials, merchants and other stakeholders working to find a replacement for the 1960s-era coin-fed meters that line Main Street.

This week, trustees voted 4-1 to award a contract to MacKay Meters of Nova Scotia, whose low bid came in at $119,925 for a modern system that will allow motorists to pay by credit card.

The new meters will feature a pay-and-display system in which motorists pay for parking at one of 15 units that will be found along Main Street and in municipal lots. Trustees said the charge for parking -- $1 an hour -- will remain unchanged for the time being.

The dissenting vote came from Trustee Peter Roy, who argued in favor of a traditional one-meter-per-space system.

Mayor Jamie Rogers said the new system will make it easier on village crews.

"I think the biggest benefit is it will be much easier to maintain and clean Main Street."

The village had bonded $250,000 last year for a new parking-meter system, but it was not until this week that the money has been authorized. The village attorney is reviewing a service contract from the vendor that will cost $8,100 a year for the parking meters.

Not everyone has been satisfied with the process. Wayne Johnston of the Lake Placid Business Association, a loose-knit coalition of Main Street merchants, complained that many questions raised in committee meetings have still never been answered.

"I don't want anyone leaving here thinking that everything is cool on Main Street," Johnston told the board. "There is by no means consensus in the business community about these meters."

Once the new meters are installed, trustees will move some of the original '60s-era ones and install them on side streets to expand paid parking areas.

In related news, the village will open some of the upper portion of a municipal lot across from NBT Bank on Main Street to general parking.

The lot is currently reserved from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for permit holders. But under the new configuration agreed to by trustees, some central spaces will be open to the general public while the perimeter will remain reserved for permit holders during normal business hours.

Info Box

Text Only | Photo Reprints
Local News

Recent Article Comments
Albany Round-up

Photo of the Day
Strange News
Videos: Editor Picks
Police: Houston Found Dead in Her Hotel Room Paul Suffers Narrow Loss to Romney in Maine Recording Superstar Whitney Houston Dead at 48 Maine GOP Chairman Says Romney Wins Caucuses Palin Brings Anti-Washington Message to CPAC Obama Scraps Birth Control Mandate US Airmen's Killer Sentenced to Life in Germany Navy Names Ship for Gabrielle Giffords Raw Video: Deadly Blasts in Syria Romney Slams President Obama at CPAC Gingrich: Pres. Obama 'waging War on Religion' 5 Killed in Wrong-way Crash on I-10 in La. Uzbek Man Pleads Guilty in Plot to Kill Obama Denver's Largest-Ever Drug Bust Nets Dozens Marines: No Punishment for Nazi-like Flag Vets Look to Translate Military Skills Into Jobs Raw Video: School Bus Burst Into Flames LA School Reopens Amid Sex Abuse Scandal $25B Settlement Reached Over Foreclosure Abuses Pentagon: Allow Women Closer to Front Lines