Columbia SC getting special parking meters you should pay even if you won’t use them. Here’s why

Patrick McCreless
Jeff Blake/The State

Paying for parking in certain areas of Columbia next month might one day help save lives.

The city of Columbia parking services has partnered with the local chapter of the American Heart Association to raise money and bring awareness of heart health to the area through a new campaign involving parking meters, a Monday city press release states.

The April initiative involves enlisting sponsors for the specialty painting of three parking meters in each of Columbia’s three downtown districts: Five Points, Main Street and The Vista. During the month of April, funds collected by each specially painted meter will be donated to the American Heart Association.

Here’s how the program works.

  • The initiative will be limited to nine sponsors (three in each district) and will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

  • Each sponsorship will cost $500, 100% of which will be tax deductible as a donation to the American Heart Association.

  • Sponsors will receive local media attention through the city and the American Heart Association.

  • Sponsors may each choose a preferred meter and location in one of the three districts and is responsible for painting and or decorating them. The city will provide guidance on decorating the meters.

  • At the end of the month, each sponsor will be awarded the decorated meter head for future display.

How to apply

Applications for sponsorship must be submitted by Friday. For more information and applications, contact George Floyd, Parking Services Business Liaison at 803-376-3788 (office) or 803-521-7758 (mobile) or via email: George.Floyd@columbiasc.gov.

South Carolina heart statistics, according to the SC DHEC

  • Heart disease was the leading cause of death in South Carolina in 2020.

  • In 2020, 11,386 South Carolinians died from heart disease.

  • Heart disease accounted for 75,886 hospitalizations in the state in 2020, with total hospitalization charges costing more than $6.8 billion.

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