“Just replaced and already out of service?” This question comes to mind on that rainy December day in the pre-Christmas hustle and bustle not only of the 70-year-old Nissan Micra driver from Rietberg, who is a little perplexed in front of the new parking ticket machine on Büscher’s place Wiedenbrück stands. Because its display board remains black for the time being. The fact that you first have to activate the device by pressing the button with the green tick is only apparent to the city center visitor from the neighborhood at second glance. Whereby: Exactly this note is emblazoned right at the top of the newly installed machine. Only: If you want to get a parking ticket on the fly, not everyone will find this text straight away.
Five devices replaced with new ones
The city administration has installed five new parking ticket machines in the past few weeks. They are located in Rheda in the multi-storey car park at the train station and in Wiedenbrück on the public parking spaces Post, Scholes Mühle and Büschers Platz – with two devices being positioned at the latter location as before. The machine that was previously in the Neupförtner Wall car park in Wiedenbrück was not replaced. “There the regulation of the parking disc requirement still applies”, informs the administration.
The old machines in shades of gray were almost 20 years old. They were put into operation in early 2001. “The devices were not only written off for a long time, they were also technically obsolete,” says the current exchange from the Rheda town hall.
Automatic machines work with solar power
According to the city, the decisive advantage of the new devices is the variety of payment options for parking tickets: Not only cash is accepted, but you can also pay for parking contactlessly using a credit or EC card. From the point of view of the administration, the self-sufficiency of the devices with energy is another plus point. Four of the five systems have been equipped with solar panels, but this was not feasible for the device at the train station due to structural conditions.
The city cites a further advantage of the new machines that they are less susceptible to failure. The old systems, which are getting on in years, have recently had to be repaired more and more frequently, which has resulted in additional costs. In the future, remote maintenance will be possible in the event of problems.
Fees don’t rise
All drivers should be pleased that the parking fees will not increase as a result of the new acquisition. The prices remain constant.
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