Last week Michael Dwyer brought us the news that downtown Rochester will no longer be offering free parking on main street. Instead, it will now cost $1.00 per hour to park.
Today the city issued a press release stating that Rochester is installing approximately 300 parking meters that will allow visitors the convenience of paying by coin or credit card. These meters will replace the original meters that were removed in 2012 as part of the Main Street Makeover Project and will be activated by the end of February.
“The new parking meter project is an exciting improvement for the City. When the City was reviewing options for new parking meters, our absolute goal was to make sure the meters were convenient for customers to operate,” stated Jaymes Vettraino, Rochester City Manager. “The IPS meter chosen is the market leader in credit card accepting meters. The City is excited to be partnering with a great company to bring a new and innovative parking meter to Rochester.”
Mayor Jeffrey T. Cuthbertson said of the new program, “In order to support our City’s continued growth, Rochester is implementing a 21st century parking management district system including the placement of these new convenient meters.” 
Parking ambassadors will be on the streets during the launch week to offer assistance or answer questions about the new parking meters. The parking meters are the first phase of Rochester’s new overall parking strategy.
For more information, contact the City of Rochester at 248/651-9061 or visit www.rochestermi.org.
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