Media Borough will offer parking meter debit cards during the holiday season in order to make residents and visitors more aware of the new program.

The parking meter debit cards, which look like any gift card or credit card, are offered by the Media Business Authority and can be purchased at Borough Hall.

The meters will continue to accept coins as well.

There is a one-time $2 charge for the card and then residents are able to add and recharge with different monetary values. Currently, the only location to recharge the cards is at Borough Hall but other options are being researched.

An upside to the rechargeable cards is that you can reimburse yourself if you haven’t used all your time on the meter. If you’ve finished your shopping but still have an hour on your meter, you can return that hour back onto your card.

For the holiday season, the MBA will distribute 300, $1 cards to Media businesses and the public for free in order to get the word out about the program, the MBA and Media Borough Council discussed at last week’s borough council meeting.

MBA Chairman Kevin Schramm said at the meeting that the intent is to give people the opportunity to try it out and show how simple the card is to use.

"The purpose is for the holiday season not only to provide people with a way to make parking a little bit easier but also to raise some awareness to the program. It’s not as widely known as it could be," he said.

Click here for more information on parking meters and permits in Media.

To read related stories from this Media Borough Council meeting, click here for the preliminary budget story and here for the 3rd Street Bridge/Dam project update.