Solar-powered parking meter in downtown Tempe

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Phoenix should install solar-powered parking meters that accept credit cards. This technology is already being implemented on Mill Avenue in downtown Tempe, and utilizes technology to text visitors when their meter is about to expire.

The city should also be looking ahead at how else it can adopt newer, more efficient technology in city structures and on streets. LED lights, for example, should begin to replace regular lights in parking structures and in streetlamps. Not only are they brighter, they last longer and use a fraction of the electricity as regular bulbs.

We live in the Valley of the Sun. We should pave the way for solar energy and support this growing technology by investing in it as a city. Solar-powered parking meters and more-efficient lighting are baby steps in the right direction.