Scarsdale residents who want a say in whether the village replaces its 382 downtown coin meters have a chance to try the machines that might take their place at Village Hall, where pay station demos have been available since late June.

The Village placed multi-space pay stations in the Village Hall lobby starting June 29, inviting the public to test the equipment and submit feedback before officials present a detailed proposal in September.

As of the Aug. 11 Village Board meeting, the units remained available for public testing. Credit card transactions on the demo units are simulated only, so visitors won't be charged.

Two models were initially installed: the MS3 from IPS Group, Inc. and the Citea from Pango/Mobile Smart City, Corp. Both are programmed with the same time limits used in the downtown business district. Mayor Justin Arest referenced three pay stations in the lobby at the Aug. 11 meeting, suggesting a third unit was added after the original announcement.

The demonstration comes as opposition builds. Resident Deborah Skolnik of Oakstwain Road told the board on Aug. 11 that a petition she circulated had gathered "more than 550" signatures against replacing individual meters with shared pay stations. A Scarsdale10583 article published Aug. 16 put the count at 537. Skolnik said the petition spread "only on a handful of Facebook pages" during "the dog days of summer," implying the opposition could grow.

Petition signers raised concerns about walking distances to shared stations, accessibility for seniors and disabled residents, privacy tied to license plate data collection, faulty machines issuing erroneous tickets, and the risk of driving shoppers to Central Avenue where parking is free.

"We are not adopting new technology for its own sake," Mayor Arest said at the Aug. 11 meeting. "Our existing coin meters are aging, expensive to maintain, require continual coin collection and repairs, and operate separately from the electronic payment and enforcement systems we already use."

Deputy Mayor Dara Gruenberg pushed back on characterizations that a decision had already been made. "There is no plan at this point," she said at the same meeting. The current phase, she emphasized, is equipment evaluation only.

Arest indicated the Village's current thinking would keep individual meters at handicapped-accessible spots so disabled drivers would not need to walk to a shared station. He also noted most downtown spaces carry a 90-minute time limit and that modern pay stations could let the Village tailor limits by location based on actual usage data.

Skolnik suggested Greenwich, Conn., has budgeted to replace its meters with units that accept both credit cards and cash, a possible middle-ground alternative.

No final plan has been adopted. The Village expects to present a detailed proposal and implementation plan in September for additional community feedback. Residents who want to test the machines can call Village Hall at 914-722-1110 to confirm the units are still on display.