Pay n Display at Broadway car park is being ditched, four years after the Conservatives introduced it.
When the pay and display was first introduced residents were outraged and a long campaign was started involving the Lib Dems, the Chamber of Commerce and the Maidenhead Advertiser to get the decision reversed.
The £120,000 system – scheduled to be up and running in early March – will use car registration numbers to check how long cars have been parked so that drivers can then pay for the time they have used:
• car registration numbers are scanned and registered on the way into and out of the car park
• before leaving, motorists enter their registration number in the parking machine then choose how to pay – by cash or card
• drivers can register to pay online or can also pay in advance if they know how long they will be in the town centre
• the scheme also covers season ticket and permit parking.
Number plates are scanned as cars arrive and leave and motorists can pay in the way that suits them best. It will remove the need for drivers to have to rush back to put more money in a ticket machine if they stay longer than planned in the town.
The new system will be trialled by staff in the coming weeks to ensure that it is up and running in time for the launch on Monday 5 March. Further details will be available in the coming weeks.