Should Nashua Repurpose its Old Meters for Charitable Donations?

On Tuesday we posted a story about the new pay and display meters being installed downtown. On Wednesday, Nashua Patch reader Ruthanne Silva Oczykowski posted this comment:

"Use the old ones like Manchester is, as donation stations to help support homeless programs."

I thought that was a good idea, at least to consider, so I'm reposting here.

How They Work

Back in May, Manchester Ward 3 Alderman Pat Long proposed reviving some of the surplus meters the city had in storage after making the transition to pay-and-display. His idea was to turn them into donation receptacles.

It was an idea with a dual purpose, floated as a way to eliminate the problem of panhandlers while helping the local soup kitchen. People feeling charitable could simply drop some change in a meter, with all collected money going to the New Horizons for New Hampshire soup kitchen.

Instead of having to decide whether to spare a dime to someone asking for spare change, just drop some coinage in the slot.

The city's Parking Division estimated the cost for the project at about $260, and another alderman proposed that the first $260 collected from the meters could be used to repay the cost of installing them, a win-win.

They are artfully decorated and labeled to insure nobody mistakes them for parking meters.

According to Long, the idea was not original. Several big cities have refurbished their defunct meters to raise money for charity.

What do you think? Could this work in Nashua?