Watertown’s new parking meters are high tech, and residents have found that they have to reach much higher to put in payments in some of new ones than they did with the old ones.
WBZ Channel 4 came out to Town and reported that one of the meters measured 5-foot-7, according to the news station’s report.
A Watertown resident posted a photo on Facebook showing a meter on Mt. Auburn Street that was about as tall as a 5-foot-2 woman.
Watertown needs a new system of government so there is one person watching who we can vote out if the job isn't done…. Posted by Kat Powers on Saturday, January 30, 2021
Assistant Town Manager Steve Magoon told WBZ-TV that the Department of Public Works would lower the meters to 48 inches over the next couple months.
The new meters are replacing old ones in all of Watertown’s municipal lots and on streets with metered parking. They accept credit cards, and later this year will begin accepting payments through a cellphone app.
I find it hard to believe that this was not fixed before you had them installed. I assume you were to worried about Biden getting elected then to take care of things the right way in Watertown. What a waste of money.
This has absolutely nothing to do with Biden, Jim. Absolutely nothing. However this does raise the question of how so many could be put up with no one questioning the height. Seem rather obvious. An explanation would be appreciated.
This is a joke. How did the “consultant” mess this one up? And, why did the installers not see, or care, that there was an obvious problem with height?
How embarrassing and not a good look for our town. Although I am not surprised that this happened given some of the decisions this town has made over the years.
How many people had to sign off on these and approve them? How is it possible that the height of these was overlooked in any of the paperwork and how foolish that they still got installed. How much money did this mistake cost us?
What a waste of time & tax payers dollars to install the parking meters at the wrong height! An error which could have been avoided if staff & the consultant used common sense.
If we are late paying a property tax bill we are penalized by paying a daily interest. How are town officials penalized by preventing simple errors?
The same designer who brought us these too-tall parking meters must be the same one who designed the too-tall footbridge over the Charles River that only the tallest of the tall can see over.
It’s called Forced Perspective, a Disney theme park optical illusion that makes objects appear bigger, smaller, closer, or farther away than they really are. This was the town’s attempt to trick your senses into not noticing the actual scale of the six-story buildings they keep approving in our neighborhood.
This is just more Systemic Sizism from Tall Supremacists. These meters are symbolic of the everyday struggle that people of shortness must endure because everything in our society is designed to suit people who are tall.
We need serious action taken by the Council, starting with “Feel Good” resolution, followed by Proclamations condemning shelf heights in Supermarkets. We need an ordinance that requires stores to place movable step stools every 25 feet in every aisle, so that people of shortness don’t have to endure the humiliation of asking someone else to reach up get their groceries.
Short Lives Matters !
Seriously, is anyone surprised? I’m not. About a dozen years ago the Town invested in brand new meters. The quickly became infamous for ripping people off. Those meters didn’t take credit cards or a phone app. The most they could overcharge you was couple of bucks, which they often did. I can only imagine what kind of horror stories we’ll be hearing.
I have used these meters. They are incredibly easy to use if you are at adult height and/or have basic physical abilities. If accessibility is really that difficult, one should reconsider operating
dangerous machinery (vehicles). The town operates a shuttle for elderly residents. We have MBTA service. Uber
/Lyft are options. There are also a number of taxi companies near Watertown Square, for those living in the past.
Really Adult height…. According to the CDC the Average Height for women in 2020 is 5’4″ .. That’s average… some you can assume many are shorter… The average height for men is 5’9″ … again many are shorter. Some of these meters are 5 feet 8 inches.
So not only are you into Tall Supremacy, you’re a misogynist as well.
Last time I checked there is no height requirement to get a driver’s license.
So by your standards, unless your 5’9″ or taller, you need to pay for some other form of transportation. So I guess the rest of us, should get a tax abatement since we can’t park on the streets.
As for Taxi Companies…. that’s another subject you’re completely out of touch about. There is one Taxi Company left in Watertown. They have at best 3 cabs on at once.
I am 5’1″ (61 inches). I’ve been an adult for years. I drive, walk, and bike around town. The meters were measured at 66 inches, correct? That’s 5 inches above my head! J Her, you must be taller but surely you know plenty of short people. Are you volunteering to help them use these parking meters?
I can’t understand why the vendor even makes parking meters this tall. It’s not like people anywhere else are all so much taller. Or are these meters meant to be installed further into the ground?
This isn’t the vendor’s doing. The meters are bigger because they include the electronics to take and process credit cards….. The issue is the DPW didn’t compensate for the larger meters by cutting down the existing poles.
Did you expect someone working for the Government to actually think before they acted ?