Looking at license plates as a way to pay for parking in downtown Huntington

Drivers will need to enter their license plate number at the pay station instead of their parking space number. Cirigliano said they will pay for the space with a credit or debit card or using tap payment.

Metered parking downtown will remain $1 per hour for a maximum of three hours, Cirigliano said. Metered parking for the LIRR station will be a flat fee of $12 per day for 24-hour parking, Cirigliano said.

“Current parking meters have reached the end of their useful life and we are receiving many complaints that they do not work and are difficult to use,” he said. “This system offers more convenience.”

The change will affect all metered street parking in downtown Huntington. Parking at the train station includes Lot 15 in front of the ticket office and street parking on Broadway and Railroad Street. Cirigliano said there are 519 parking spaces in downtown Huntington and 100 at the train station.

Seven municipal spaces in downtown Huntington will remain free. Cirigliano said the new system does not affect commuter parking lots at the train station.

He said drivers can still use the Passport Parking App to park on the street downtown and at the LIRR station, but they will enter their license plate numbers instead of the space number.

Cirigliano added that the new system will also help with enforcement. Parking enforcement officers will use vehicle-mounted and portable license plate readers to monitor free parking violations.

Drivers will also be able to move to another parking area downtown if they still have time on the meter.

The cashless system also addresses safety concerns of some public safety officials who collect revenue from existing meters.

“Taking someone out with $10, $15,000 in their car and driving around collecting cash — it’s just a matter of time before something happens,” he said.

The town signed a five-year contract with Pennsylvania-based T2 UPsafety for the system. The city paid a one-time fee of $199,999 for 25 parking meters and will pay a monthly service fee of $2,375.

Any improvement that offers greater convenience and safety is a benefit, said Dominick Catoggio, president of the Huntington Village Business Improvement District, which encompasses downtown.

“It all depends on the new service being intuitive and user-friendly,” he said.

On New Street downtown recently, Lara Kuby of Lloyd Harbor said she was skeptical of the new system.

Kuby said it will take more time to enter information into the meter, especially to make sure the information is accurate.

“I miss the days of putting quarters into an old-school machine,” he said. “As technology advances, I find it less useful and frustrating.”