SR to yank some parking meters, take others solar

It won't be as dramatic as the famous introductory scene in the 1967 film "Cool Hand Luke," when Paul Newman is sent to prison for cutting the heads off parking meters while drunk.

But the Santa Rosa City Council on Tuesday plans to take steps of its own to eliminate about 1,000 downtown parking meters.

The council is expected to approve testing two different types of solar-powered parking meters. Both types will accept coin, paper bills, debit and credit cards as payment for parking in several different spots.

Santa Rosa -- the only Sonoma County city with downtown parking meters -- will still issue $25 tickets for those who overstay their paid parking time.